As Time Goes By
by MightyMightyMunson
Summary: Storms are on the horizon for Sanosuke and the rest of the Kenshingumi. Please note that this chapter is rated M for adult situations. UPDATED - APRIL 2013.
1. Priorities Part One

_ It's funny how things begin....This particular little obsession of mine began the afternoon my brother and I watched the final Kenshin OVA (Warning: While it is a superbly crafted piece of work....then ending will leave you feeling like you were run over by the Kleenex Mobile. ) Anyway, after we both managed to wipe our tears away and eat two containers of Double Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream, we sat down and began arguing whether this movie really did justice to the characters that my brother and I had grown to love. The answer of course...was HELL NO ! (What can I say....I'm a hopeless optimist....) _

_ That night I couldn't sleep. (That's how upset I was about the ending...) So I pulled out a favorite book of mine, The Coming Plague_ _by Laurie Garret. It is an incredible book about a group of Epidemiologist who struggle to keep the most lethal diseases known to man from becoming pandemic. Two of the doctors in this book were women....smart, sassy kick ass gals who faced down diseases like Brazilian Hemorrhagic Fever and Mutated strains of Tuberculosis without blinking an eye, or losing their inherent love of humanity. They were my inspiration for Dr. Mara Mogensen's character and the impetus for this story. I hope that you will read this with an open mind and understand that my first attempt at writing fan fiction if straight from the heart._

  


________________________________________________________________________________

_AS TIME GOES BY_

  
  


Tokyo 1886

  


_(She's getting worse!)_ Kenshin frowned as he felt Kaoru's forehead. _(The dried chrysanthemum isn't doing a thing for this fever....nothing is!)_ He winced as his wife moaned and tried to move away from him, her reaction causing his heart to contract tightly in his chest. _(She doesn't mean it, the fever is causing this reaction...not my touch ...not me....)_He tried to reassure himself that the distance that he had felt ever since he had arrived back home was the result of Kaoru's illness, and not a true reflection of her feelings for him. 

Kenshin shook his head as he remembered the cool, almost detached look in her eyes as he had walked into the courtyard - finally home after nearly five months away on government business. He had expected her usual warm welcome home, a cheery smile and a hug - perhaps even a kiss or two to let him know that she had missed him as much as he missed her. This time....it was a forced smile, her face lined with worry and sorrow._(Kaoru....what is it? What's wrong?)_ When he had tried to embrace her, she had stiffened and imperceptibly resisted the contact between them. Kenshin had stopped, hurt and confused at this most un-Kaoru like reaction, unsure for the first time in years about how to approach his wife. _(Gods! What is it?) _

Kenshin's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway _(Kenji)_ He looked up to see a serious face peek around the corner. _(I can't believe how much he's grown....he's not a little boy anymore.) _Kenshin had been amazed at the physical changes that had taken place during the months that he had been gone. His son was taller, leaner and already showing the athletic coordination that he had inherited from both parents. There were other changes as well - these not so welcome. While Kaoru's response had been....restrained, Kenji's had been openly hostile - the boy had gone out of his way to let Kenshin know that he was not happy that his father was back. _(Why should he be? - I've been gone for so long, he probably doesn't even recognize me.) _

"Kenji - please come here." Kenshin smiled and reached out a hand to the doorway. "I need to talk to you about your mother."

"Is she going to die?" His son looked at him with an unusually somber expression, one that was far too mature for a five year old.

"No...of course not. She's just a little sick right now, and we are going to take care of her together." He watched as the boy hesitated for a moment, them walked over to the futon that Kaoru was lying on and knelt down. Kenji took his mother's hand in his and frowned.

"Mommy feels hot!" He looked up at his mother's still face. He could tell that she felt sick because she wasn't smiling. _(She was smiling....until HE came back.) _Kenji shot a dirty look at his father, hoping that he would leave soon. 

"I can do it myself!" Kenshin closed his eyes at the anger laced voice. "I will take care of Mommy and you can go away."

"Kenji! That's enough!" Kenshin snapped, not wanting the conversation to continue. _(I understand that you're upset, but I am still your father!) _ He looked over at his son and was shocked at the expression on the boy's face as undisguised hatred marred the childish features. Kenji's eyes were dark and his little hands clenched in fists as he glared at his father. _(A five year old staring down the Hitokiri Battosai)_ under any other circumstance, Kenshin would have found this childish display of temper hilarious - this scene....this broke his heart. _(He hates me. My own child hates me......)_

The sound of Kaoru retching instantly reminded him that there were more pressing

matters to take care of this evening than dwell on his relationship with his son. He helped his wife into a sitting position and tried to help her as she vomited into a basin. Kenji backed away, now looking like a frightened little boy, as his mother groaned in pain. Kaoru opened her eyes and tried to focus on her husband, blinking several times before she gave up the attempt. 

"Ohhh,....it hurts....it hurts....." She whispered as she pressed a slender hand against her abdomen. Her whole body seemed like it was ripping apart - from the headache that had been pounding since this morning to the muscle cramps that tore through her legs and made her want to scream out in pain. _(This can't be happening! I can't let this hurt my baby!) _Kaoru fought the urge to cry, knowing that it would frighten her son and husband. _(Be calm......be strong.....you will be fine...and so will the baby...everything will be fine...)._ She clenched her teeth as another spasm wrenched through her. _(Oh no, not again!)_

Kaoru's eyes widened in pain as she vomited . This time it was pitch colored and smelled metallic. Kenshin nearly cried out. _(It's blood!) _He felt fear in settle into his stomach and start its slow spread throughout his body. Dr. Genzai had warned him that this might happen. It was a sign that the disease was spreading throughout her body...if a rash appeared next....._(No! Don't even think about it!) _He carefully helped Kaoru lay back on the futon, wiping her face and mouth with a cool cloth. The cold water against her skin caused his wife to convulse and she screamed out in spite of herself. The sound of his mother's distress was too much for Kenji, who stood up and ran out of the room, crying loudly. 

_(This is too much!)_ Kenshin thought _(I return home to a son who can't stand the sight of me and a wife who won't even let me know she's seriously ill!) _Kaoru had not gotten out of bed this morning, saying something about being a little tired and needing some rest. By the time lunch was ready, Kaoru was delirious and unable to stand without assistance. A quick examination from Dr. Genzai had confirmed Kenshin's worst fears that his wife was seriously ill and had been for some time - at least a week _(I should have been here!)_ His hands clenched the blanket that covered his wife's still figure and he willed her to be well, for this fever to evaporate , for her eyes to open. Tears stung his eyes as he fought the urge to take Kaoru into his arms and hold her close , protecting her from this unseen enemy that threatened the one that he held most dear. _(She has Typhoid! It's too late for that....it might be too late for everything!)_ Typhoid fever was a lethal disease that the former assassin was all too familiar with. The fact that she was bleeding internally was a bad sign._(I should have never left....Oh Kaoru, I'm so sorry!)_ He knelt down next to her and took her clammy hand in his, hoping that the contact would bring some comfort, at least let her know that he was near.

"Kaoru." he whispered, "Beloved...please fight this!" his voice caught .."Don't leave me!!!"

  


Tokyo 2004

  


_ (It's right here....waiting for me to see it......) _Mara Mogensen screwed her eyes shut for a second as her mind reviewed that last ten pages of data. _(What am I missing? I've got the spread pattern, morbidity table, enough pathology reports to last a lifetime, hell, I even know where the index patient came from!.....Think!.......What are the variables for this strain?)_ The young epidemiologist opened her eyes and swore. _(Give it a rest ! At this rate, I won't be able to find my way out of a wet paper sack!) _Mara sighed and slowly straightened up, her back and shoulders protesting the change in position. Glancing at the clock she realized that she had been working for nearly 9 hours without a break _(And what do I have to show for it? Not a damn thing...How typical). _Mara stretched for a second and then walked over to a well used couch (at least it looked like a couch before mountains of books, boxes and printouts covered it) that was haphazardly placed in the middle of her office. She looked at the couch for a minute..._(Do I really want to move all that?)_ Then sat next to it on the floor. Within minutes she was asleep.

'Knock! Knock! Knock!" 

"Go Away! I'm sleeping!" 

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

. "Get lost! I mean it!"

"Knock! Knock!......"

"What in the hell do you want?" Mara flung open the door, blurry eyed from lack of sleep and just plain old irritation. She squinted at the figure in the hallwaybefore she realized it was the new employee from....... Accounting? _(Great - A bean counter! Just who I don't want to deal with tonight!)_. The problem was she couldn't remember who she was.

"Dr. Mogensen, I apologize for the interruption_." _The woman spoke in a soft , cultured voice. 

"Uhhh....don't worry about it....I was just trying to catch up on some sleep. What do you want?" Mara asked bluntly, as she tried to recall the woman's name. 

"I need to ask a personal favor of you." 

"Huh?" Mara looked at the accountant strangely. The woman just stood there, radiating a cool and almost serene presence that Mara would have been jealous of had she been really awake. 

"It's of a...."discreet" nature. May I speak to you in your office?"

"Oh......that type of favor." Mara nodded and let the woman inside. She had one more than one occasion helped family members of hospital personnel who had found themselves in trouble. Usually it was teenagers who had been fooling around and gotten pregnant or a person who needed help in dealing with the effects of drug or alcohol addition. In Japanese society, both these problems created social embarrassment for patient and family, so Mara just bypassed the normal social service nets and took care of the problem quietly. __

She closed the door and looked carefully at the woman. _(She doesn't look like someone from administration....No, definitely not. She's much too classy to be an office stooge and isn't nearly annoying enough.)_ The woman was in a word "perfect". There wasn't an item on her that was out of place. From the intricate hairstyle she wore, to the lavender shawl that hung from one shoulder, she looked and acted like a woman who had her act together_. _Mara glanced down at her own attire _(One well loved U2 concert T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans that have seen better days and my doc martin's - that's it!)_ She had long since given up trying to look "nice", and instead emphasized the "comfortable" approach to fashion._(Besides, outfits like this piss off the hospital administrators!)_

"Well, do I pass inspection?" Mara jumped when she realized that the accountant (?) was talking to her. 

"Yeah, I think so...I just have to be careful. The last "favor" I did for someone nearly got me fired." (Mara was in fact still on probation for dispensing medication to a homeless woman without written permission from the dispensary.)__

"Then why do you do it?" The woman seemed curious. "Why risk your career for people who really don't have much to offer?"

"Because it needs to be done!" Mara snapped_. _"Unlike some people, I try not to base a person's worth of their financial or social standing. You should try it sometime!" She half expected the woman to walk out of her office in a huff and was surprised to see an amused - almost ...pleased expression on her perfectly made up face. 

"Yes, I think you'll do just fine." 

"What in the hell's that supposed to mean?" Mara put her hands on her hips and waited.

"It means, Dr. Mogensen, that I can trust you to take care of someone very close to me." The woman handed Mara an address and a man's name on a piece of paper. "I received word today that this man's wife is seriously ill and needs immediate medical attention. They are not in a position to go to a hospital nor can they afford a doctor. I was hoping that you could stop by their house this evening, if it's not too late." 

"What's wrong with the wife?"

"I'm not sure....something about an infectious fever, perhaps."

"An "infectious fever"....that could be anything!" Mara snorted "I guess that means I'll be taking the everything with me." She jerked her head in the direction of an old, olive green duffle bag that was lying in the corner. "Looks like hell, but it's chock full of goodies!"__

"Then, you'll go and check on them?" The woman walked over to Mara. "There may be....unexpected difficulties."

"Lady, that goes with the territory!" Mara sighed and walked over to the bag and hefted it on her shoulder. "It beats staying here all night, frying my brains."

  


Tokyo 1886

  


"Kenshin! Kenshin! No....please...... don't go....Kenshin!!" Kaoru thrashed and moaned on the futon, her blue eyes bright with fever and memories so painful that they threatened to overwhelm her. _(He's leaving me again.....he'll never be back.....)_ In her fevered delirium she could see him as he slipped away into the darkness, but for some reason, her limbs were like lead and she could not move. 

"KENSHIN!" she screamed, her throat raw and sore and she struggled to keep her husband from disappearing. "Kenshin No!!!!"

Kenshin's worry had been replaced by terror. He could see that her body was weakening, that she was losing the struggle to this disease and that there was nothing that he could do about it. His heart nearly broke as he heard her cry out his name, knowing that it was his near constant absence from his family was causing her distress. He wrung the washcloth out and reapplied it to her hot forehead. Kenji was huddled in the corner of the bedroom, trying not to cry. He watched as Kenshin shook his head and applied another compress to Kaoru's body. At the touch of the wet washcloth she cried out and tried to wrench it from her head _(It's too cold and heavy!)_ Kenshin reapplied the compress and caught her hand before she could rip it away. "Kaoru, please stop!... This will bring down the fever, trust me..I don't mean to hurt you..Shhhhh." Kenshin pleaded, desperate to ease the pain that wracked the frail body beside him. Kaoru's nose had started bleeding and wouldn't stop, she was wracked by chills even though her fever had risen, and her breathing was becoming ragged. His instincts told him that he needed to get Dr. Genzai here as quickly as possible, but he didn't have anyone to watch over his son while he was gone. _(Who am I kidding, he'll be just fine.)_ He looked over at Kenji and sighed. The boy had not moved for hours, refusing to go to bed. He knew that his mother was in trouble and would not move, no matter how frightening the situation was for him. _(You are as brave as your mother and as stubborn as your father!) _

"Kenji! I need your help." Kenshin motioned the boy to come closer. "I need you to talk to Mommy and help keep this compress on her head." His son nodded and knelt down by the futon. "I need to go and get a doctor. I'm sorry that I have to leave you alone, but I need to hurry. Promise me that you won't leave your mother's side!"

The look that his son gave him was priceless. "I would never leave Mommy alone!" He looked over at his mother, and in spite of his brave words, started to sob. "She will be alright, won't she Daddy?" 

Kenshin couldn't say anything. He managed to tousle his son's brown hair before he ran out of the room. 

  


Tokyo 2004 

Mara had been surprised when the woman _(Damn it! Why can't I remember her name?) _offered to walk her to her car. Usually in these situations, the person asking for help did so with as much secrecy as possible, not wanting to attract any attention to themselves. Mara was somewhat of a social pariah in the hospital, and being seen with her was a sure fire way to slip a few rungs down on the corporate ladder.

"You sure you want to be seen with me?" Mara half joked as they made their way down the elevator. The woman turned to her and smiled.

"Of course." The elevator dinged and opened to the underground parking section. "Don't worry, doctor. No one will see us." She was right - the place was nearly empty. The only car in the section was a beat up, blue Toyota hatchback covered with bumper stickers. The woman smirked as she read one: _Beam me up Scotty, there is no intelligent life on this planet!_

"This is your car, I assume?"

"Yup! She might not look like much...but this old girl's a trooper!" Mara patted the dented hood affectionately. She carefully placed the duffel bag in the trunk and turned to wish the woman goodbye. 

"Doctor, are you sure that you don't mind doing this?" The woman looked down at her left hand and saw a wedding band."Won't your husband be worried ?"

"No....I don't think so." Mara shoved her hand into her jean pocket and looked away for a second as a painful expression flickered across her face. "He's dead." An awkward silence followed.

"Oh....I'm so sorry for your loss." The woman said quietly.

"Yeah, me too - but there's not much I can do about it, is there?" Mara smiled tightly, wishing for a change in the conversation. Her husband's death was a topic that she didn't want or need to think about at the moment. She scratched the back of her head and sighed.

"Well, I'd better get going. Is there anything you want me to tell your friend?"

"Would you please tell him I hope he's happy?" The woman asked. "His life has been very hard since I saw him last.....I hope he can find some peace, like I did. He deserves it and so does his family."

Mara nodded . "I promise! Don't worry about him, or his wife...I'll make sure they're okay." She unlocked the door and hopped inside.

"Mara...you don't know how much this means to me.....Thank You" 

"Don't worry about it - I'm glad I can help." She was about to drive off when she realized that she didn't know who the woman was. "Hey! I know this sounds dumb, but I can't for the life of me remember your name!"

The woman smiled as she turned away. "Tomoe . My name is Tomoe Yukishiro".

Tokyo 1886

A man ran, no tore, through the dark streets of Tokyo. His mind was focused on one thing - one woman. Kenshin's mind screamed at him to hurry and find help for Kaoru before...before... _(Stop!...Don't think, damn it!.... RUN!) _He shut his eyes and increased his inhuman pace, denying even the idea of her death to form in his mind. Before long he reached the clinic. The sight before him stopped him in his tracks. A line of bodies trailed around the entrance of the clinic. Voices, some strong and desperate, others week with sickness called out for someone to help. Kenshin saw men , women and children lying where they had fallen. Many were dead or near death. He wildly looked around for Dr. Genzai and finally found him standing over the still form of a young woman. The girl's mother sobbed as the father picked up the body and held it close to his chest. Kenshin swore at the look of utter devastation on the man's face and heart as he turned and walked away, still holding what remained of his daughter. The doctor silently watched the couple leave. His old, weathered face also told of exhaustion and terrible sorrow. He looked up and gasped when he realized who was standing next to him.

"Kenshin! Why... what are you doing here?" his faced paled. "It's not Kaoru is it? Please tell me that she is feeling better!" 

"She is much worse!" Kenshin's voice caught " I can't break her fever and she is showing sings of internal bleeding. Doctor, she's delirious and in terrible pain. What do I do - how do I help her ?" he begged.

The doctor bowed his head, and sighed. He rubbed his hands over his eyes for a moment, then slowly came to where Kenshin stood. He looked up at his friend and his heart ached at what he must now say to a man who was already no stranger to sorrow and terrible loss.

"You must prepare yourself."

Kenshin gasped and stepped away. He shook his head, horrified at Dr, Genzai's implication, the finality that such sediments suggested.. 

"NO! Surely there must be something else that I can do....You can't expect me to just give up and let her.......she can't.....I WON'T LET HER GO!" he screamed, fists clenched. His voice was so terrible that several people backed away, wanting to run from the amber eyed man in their midst.

"There is simply nothing more that we can do now. It is not in our hands. This illness is nearly impossible to treat....and when there are complications it is almost always fatal!" The doctor hesitantly put his hands on the younger man's shoulder, hoping that the contact would provide some cold comfort.

" Kenshin! Please try and understand, I am losing far more patients than I can save. Just look around you to see that I speak the truth. You know if there was anything I would do for my Kaoru I would. You have also done all that you can do for her my friend. Now you must try and prepare for what is to come - for her, yourself and your son. I am so sorry." He broke down and started sobbing. "I'm so sorry!" Kenshin backed away from the doctor and stumbled against another body. He ignored it and turned to leave. The expression on his face was almost unnatural, his countenance devoid of any emotions other than rage and a grief that defied understanding.

"It's not your fault......I am the one to blame for what has happened to Kaoru."

Kenshin stumbled away from the clinic - numb with the horror that he was going to lose her. _(This can't be happening...She has to get better!) _A part of his mind refused to accept what he had been told - denying even the possibility of a life without her by his side, in his arms, ......with Kenji. _(Kami-sama! What will happen to my Kenji if he loses his mother?)_ He staggered, as though he had been run through, and fell to his knees. (_Not now.... not after all that we've been though....not her!)_ There were so many things that had been left unsaid, things that he needed to tell her....How beautiful she was, how she made him laugh, that she completed him and made him whole.......that he loved her. He started to sob as he realized that since arriving home three days ago that he hadn't even done that for her. She would never know what she had done for him, how she had changed him and his battle worn heart for the better.Kenshin looked into the darkness and felt it mirror back to him what his life would be like without his wife, his Kaoru. He knelt in the dirt road and wept, crying harder than he ever had before. Kenshin lifted his tear stained face to the night sky as he choked out prayers out to the Gods that had seemingly forsaken him, unseen deities that had left him without hope and any chance for happiness .

"Please! Please don't take her from me - Don't take away the one person that I need in this world! I know that despite my best efforts, my soul is still stained with the blood of those I killed so many years ago, and as a result of that, I do not deserve her, I never did.......still, I beg you that she might remain here with me.....beside me. If not for me, then please spare her for the sake of our son! Please don't take her away."

  


Tokyo 2004

"Dammit! I'm going to kill that woman!" 

Mara looked at the address on the paper and then out the window. She was in the middle of an industrial park _(A run down, nasty, desolate, God-forsaken industrial park!) _and obviously the victim of a sick practical joke _(Unless the woman's "friend" lives in a cardboard box in the middle of this intersection!) _Mara rolled down the window and looked around once more, just to make sure that on one was around before she went back to the hospital and strangled someone with their purple shawl.

"Hey! Any one out there?" She bellowed into the night air. It was silent _(Big surprise!)_ except for the sound of a transit bus that was making its way up the street. Mara shook her head and rolled the window up. She tried to turn her car back on and nearly screamed in frustration when she realized that the battery in her "trooper" of a car had died again. _(How utterly typical! Like I didn't have enough crap to deal with as is!) _She was so busy trying to start her car that she didn't notice that the transit bus had drifted across the traffic lanes and was headed right at her. Mara had enough time to look up, realize what was about to happen and close her eyes. She didn't even have a chance to scream as she was thrown into darkness as the bus smashed headlong into her Toyota at over 80 kilometers an hour.

  


Tokyo 1886

_ (Typical......how typical......I really must have pissed someone of in my last life. First I can't find the strain variations, then I get sent on a wild goose chase to the back end of Tokyo and then this is the best part!...I manage to get plowed by a bus and killed.......how utterly typical.....what's next? Eternity in the dark?) _Mara muttered to herself as she lay in a black void. Then she realized that her eyes were closed. 

As she opened her eyes, two things became very apparent. She wasn't dead _(Angel's don't wear black leather jackets do they?) _ and that she had no idea where she was - no idea at all. She sat up and gasped at the landscape around her. The concrete and asphalt of Tokyo's industrial park had been replaced by fields and a dirt road that she was lying in the middle of. She saw a brick wall, perhaps surrounding a home to the right of her and by the sounds to the left, assumed that a river was nearby. 

"What in the hell......where...am I?" 

She looked around again and was even more startled to see that her duffle bag was beside her. _(What on earth is it doing here?) _Mara gingerly peeked inside to confirm that is was indeed her duffle bag. It was too dark to really see much, but she could make out familiar shapes and the scent of iodine permeated the cloth. _(Yup , that's my bag all right! Now how in hell did I arrive with it in the middle of this dirt road?.......Car-jacking)_ she finally decided.... _(I must have been car-jacked by a maniac that was driving a bus.....who had an aversion to modern medicine......)_ Mara shook her head....no, that was to surreal even for her life. There had to be a perfectly simple explanation as to why she was sitting in the middle of a dirt road somewhere in the country. _(Right.....a perfectly reasonable explanation my ass!)_ She groaned as she stood up, then tried to dust herself off . Mara stood still for a second trying to get her bearings. Then, without warning, it started to rain. Her grey eyes narrowed .

_(How typical....what's next? Hail, pestilence - Oh I know! How about some fireballs from the sky? A perfect ending for a "perfect" day!)_ Well, I might as well figure out where in the blue blazes I am - beats standing here looking like an idiot." She picked up her bags and headed for the closest house. 

When she came close she realized that is was an old fashioned Japanese home , complete with rice paper walls and everything._(Cool!)_ She walked into the courtyard and called out.

"Ahhh..... excuse me, sorry to bother .... is anyone here?" 

There was no sound. Mara wondered what she should do. She was in Japan so she felt reasonably safe going inside (unlike in the US where she attended graduate school, the chance of running into an armed person were remote) If she ran into any trouble. she'd just explain that she was lost and needed some directions to the nearest phone and or police station. Mara carefully made her way to the door and quietly slid it open. She could see a light in one of the rooms.

"Hello?... ummm......anyone awake in there?" she softly called. She was surprised to see a little brown haired boy stick his head out of the door. He looked at her with a fierce expression for a second and then he saw her duffle bag.

"Are you the doctor?" His face brightened. "Come take care of Mommy, she needs your help!" He grabbed the lady's hand and pulled her in towards the bedroom.

Mara carefully walked towards to lit bedroom not sure what she would find. _(How did he know that a doctor was coming?...)_ She paused at the door and took a deep breath and peeked inside. Mara gasped. The candle light revealed a young woman, lying on a futon, covered in a blanket. Mara looked at the sleeping woman and realized that she was terribly sick - a red rash covered chest, her breathing was shallow and erratic. She was shivering with fever and by the color of the vomit drenched blanket, she was bleeding internally. In short, this was a woman who was in big trouble. Mara put her duffle bag down and looked at the boy _(You're a brave little guy to be taking care of her all by yourself!)_

"What's your name?"

"Kenji...Himura Kenji." The boy smiled at her and motioned at the sick woman. "That's my Mommy. Her name is Kaoru. Are you going to make her feel better?"

"Well, I'm going to try Kenji. You're mom is very, very sick." Mara knelt down next to the woman and tried to figure out what disease was causing the symptoms. After a few seconds, she shook her head, frowning. _(It looks like a classic presentation of typhoid fever......but, it can't be.... antibiotics would clear this up within a few days.....what is wrong with her?)_. She looked back at the boy for second then pulled out the piece of paper that the accountant had given her. _(Himura Kenshin....I wonder if that's this boys father?)_

"Is your dad here?"

"No. He went to go get the doctor." Kenji smiled up at her with a toothy grin. "He must have hurried real fast, cause you're here to take care of Mommy."

"Kenji, My name is Doctor Mogensen. You can call me Mara if you want. I am going to take a look at your mom and try and figure out why she is feeling sick , okay?" She smiled as the small boy eagerly nodded. Mara opened up her duffel bag and quickly pulled out several items. Then she carefully donned latex gloves and a mask. 

"I'm wearing this so that I don't breathe on your mom." She motioned to the mask, knowing that it probable looked scary to the child. Mara slipped her stethoscope on and leaned over the woman, preparing to check her vial signs. She never made it that far.

  


Kenshin staggered into the courtyard. The task that was before seem seemed impossible to face. A part of his mind urged him to run, not to go back into that home that he now called his own, not to watch the woman that he had grown to love pass from this life. He wondered where he would ever find the strength to endure this _(Do I even want to?)_ He shook his head, disgusted with the train of thought _(Kenji needs me - no matter what, I can't let him down now!) _He was about to walk into the house, when he realized something was wrong. _(Someone is here!)_ Kenshin instantly froze as he saw that the main entrance was open. Looking at the ground he saw a strange set of footprints leading to the door. His amber eyes narrowed dangerously as he silently crept inside. _(Idiot! I was in such a hurry to get help for her that I didn't even check the perimeter of the house!) _It was a habit born out of necessity, one that he had, until this evening always followed without fail. 

_(I'm such a fool!)_ he snarled to himself.

Kenshin moved silently into the hallway as he strained his senses to try locate the intruder. There were muffled sounds coming from Kaoru's room and......_(yes)_..... he could sense a chi that was unfamiliar to him. Feral rage blossomed behind his eyes as he thought of what could be happening in the room _(Kaoru, Kenji!) _ and it was all his fault! He reached down to where his sword should have been, and cursed when he remembered that he had not worn one for nearly two years. _(It doesn't matter, I don't need a sword to protect them!) _For the first time in years, Kenshin could feel the Battosai's rage and he willingly let it envelope him, knowing that it would enable him to protect his wife and child from danger. _(No regrets, no holding back....I will not see them come to harm!)_ Kenshin snarled as he burst into the room without a sound. 

__

_ (You bastard!) _A man in black with a mask on was leaning over Kaoru's chest with a weapon that almost resembled a garrote. He realized that Kenji was sitting right next to him and knew that he needed to put distance between his son and the assassin before he could strike.

"KENJI!....MOVE!" Kenshin grabbed his son by collar and yanked him out of harms way before the boy knew what was happening. Kenji screamed out in fear as he landed in the corner of the bedroom, unharmed but afraid of the tone in his father's voice. The intruder looked up to see what the commotion was _(That's all the time I need.)_

In an instant, Kenshin was standing between the man and his wife's. A simple strike threw the assassin back against the wall. Kenshin advanced on the figure, his eyes blazing with hell fire. 

"If you try and touch her, you will regret it !"

Mara looked up, and into the eyes of death (her death, more precisely). She gasped, and backed further into the corner - horrified at the expression of the man before her. He was a small man, probably a good seven or eight inches shorter than herself, and thin. A mane of red hair framed a face that was so fierce and cold - his eyes somehow glowed with an infernal yellow light that radiated hate and pain. He advanced on Mara, his fingers tightening into fists. Mara pulled off her mask and backed away again, hands up to show that she was unarmed, that she meant no harm. She had never been so frightened, so sure that her life was measured in seconds._ (I really am amazing. Of all the houses I HAD to pick the one with a certified nutcase in it - bravo! Who needs to get plowed by a bus when you can be smeared across a room ?)_ She looked at the man again and hoped that he could be reasoned with.

"I am not trying to harm your wife. I am a doctor. I mean you and your family no harm !" Mara quietly spoke, hoping that the man could see that she was telling the truth. She backed away even more to try and calm the man's fears.

Kenshin's eyes, narrowed as he realized that the intruder was a woman, _(It doesn't matter!)_ He could tell that she was terrified and confused at his reaction as he stepped towards her again. The woman backed away from him, her eyes widening in fear. She slowly spoke to him trying to tell him that she was trying to help... that she was a doctor......that she meant no harm. She reached down into an opening on the side of her pants. Before she could move again, Kenshin had her pinned to the wall, his hand across her throat.

"I will ask you only once, who sent you?" His voice was laced with a lethal intensity . The woman's hands tightened around his arm trying to help herself breathe. 

"What?...I don't understand?"_(Think! Show him the address....that should convince him!) _She gasped as his fingers contracted against her windpipe, but managed to grab the piece of paper in her pocket and hold it up. Kenshin snatched it away from her without even a glance and threw it on the floor.

. "Who....sent....you? The man's voice somehow became more menacing. __

_ "_A woman at work......she said that she had a friend whose wife was sick. She gave me a name and address...I assumed that it was you. I'm sorry! I was obviously mistaken ...." The man's eyes narrowed at this response and his grip on her throat tightened. Mara tried to remove his hand from her but his grip was like steel. 

"What was the woman's name?"

"You're hurting me.... I can't breathe.......please stop this! I was only trying to help her." Mara whispered. "Your wife is sick..." 

"What was her name!"

"Tomoe....I think she said her name was Tomoe Yukishiro...." Mara gasped as the man's fingers clenched, cutting of her air supply. She whimpered as the man's face distorted with pain and fury, his mouth curling into a snarl.

"You Liar!" He growled, enraged beyond belief. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to continue living!" Kenshin fought the urge to twist his wrist that was around the woman's throat, knowing that the subtle action would snap her neck. _(How dare you even mention her name....damn you!)_

Mara shook her head frantically _(Shit! Wrong answer!) _She frantically clawed at the man's arm, but her gloves prevented her from drawing blood. _(I.....won't let....you...)_ Mara's vision started to blur as the lack of oxygen took it's toll. 

"No! Stop!" Kenshin jerked his hand back as his son darted in between him and the woman.

"Don't hurt her!" Kenji was screaming at him almost incoherently as he kicked his father in the leg and tried to bite his arm. "She was trying to help Mommy!" When these actions failed, he resorted to the time honored tradition of crying....loudly.

"Kenji! Get back!" Kenshin tried to push the boy out of harm's way. He loosened his grip on the woman's throat. Mara managed to gasp.

"Kenji....run!" She tried to grab the man's hand away from the boy. "Run!" 

Kenshin's eyes widened as he realized that the woman was trying to protect his son._(Why bother protecting a target? Unless.....he isn't a target....)_ He released her throat and stepped back, letting the woman collapse in a heap on the floor. In a flash, Kenji was crouching next to the gasping woman, patting her back while he glared up at the father with an expression that would have been almost murderous had it not been on a five year old. 

"She came to make Mommy better....and you hit her.....I hate you!" 

Kenshin just stared as Mara massaged her throat, trying to breathe. _(Unless...they aren't targets.....Kami-sama what have I done?) _ The expression on his son's face was searing itself into him, as was the look of pain and fear in the woman's eyes. _(What have I done!)_ He stepped toward the woman and groaned as she whimpered and tried to back away. Kenji snarled at him and tried to hit him. Kenshin carefully caught the boys wrist and tried to reason with a five year old boy who had just witnessed his father nearly killing a woman. _(Gently! He's seen enough of your violence to last a lifetime!)_

"Kenji....stop.....shhhhh. I'm so sorry I scared you....I thought that this lady was trying to hurt you and Mommy." Kenshin spoke softly, trying to explain, hoping that both were able to understand." I didn't know that she was trying to help. Kenji...look at me..." He gently lifted his son's tearstained face. "I know I frightened you. I'm so sorry, can you try and forgive me? " 

Kenji shook his head and then burst into tears again, burying his head in Kenshin's pant leg. His father just held him, sick with the knowledge that he had probably just ruined any chance for a healthy relationship with the boy. He looked over as the woman tried to stagger to her feet. She was still clutching her throat with one hand and by the expression on her face, was in a tremendous amount of pain. 

"What is your problem ? You nearly killed me!" 

"I thought that you were trying to harm my wife and son." _(No point in apologies....what can I say to try and make things right?)_

"Oh....so you decided to crush my throat! How considerate!" Mara spat. 

Suddenly, Kaoru began convulsing on the futon, as another round of vomiting ensued.

"Shit! She's going to aspirate on that stuff! Help me roll her to her side." Kenshin and Mara quickly rolled Kaoru over and waited until the retching subsided. Mara took the woman's pulse and frowned. _(She's getting worse.....I don't have time to banter with him!)_ She glanced over at the husband. He was gently wiping his wife's face and chest, oblivious to everything but the sight of her suffering. He winced as his wife cried out in her delirium and looked over Mara. The transformation was startling. One moment, he had been death incarnate - a man who radiated hate and the promise of pain in the glow of his amber eyes. Now....Mara was watching a husband holding his sick wife tenderly. Somehow, even his eyes had changed to a dark violet hue that spoke only of fear and grief. _(What type of man am I dealing with?) _Mara knew that if she ran from the situation, the woman would be dead in a matter of days. _(And above all else....I swear that I will do no harm to my patient.)_ She recalled the oath that she had taken when she became a doctor _(Her death will destroy this man and leave that little boy without his mother...)_ Mara sighed as she made her decision.

"I want you to listen to me carefully...If I don't treat your wife, she'll die. I'm going to try and trust you, even though you don't deserve it. You will need to trust me, and know that I will do everything to try and save your wife.Do we have a deal?"

Kenshin nodded in amazement. "You will help Kaoru?" 

"I promised Kenji that I would." Mara tried to smile at the boy. "Didn't I?"

Kenji nodded in between sniffles. "Yes." "Okay then, why don't we work together and make your mom feel better." Mara talked in a quiet voice, hoping that it would help calm the little boy. She put on a fresh pair of gloves and a mask. "Kenji, do you want to help me take your mom's temperature?" The boy nodded eagerly. Mara helped him hold a digital thermometer and smiled when the beep caused to boy to jump. She glanced at the reading and frowned. _(104.2 degrees - damn!) _

"We need to get this down immediately. What have you been giving her for the fever?"

" Crysthanthemum tea." 

"What ? Look, I know that you might be into herbs and "natural remedies" but she needs something stronger. I would like to give her some liquid Tylenol. It should take the fever down and lessen her pain. Is that all right?" Kenshin nodded "Please help me raise her to a sitting position."

Kenshin carefully lifted Kaoru into his arms and looked at the doctor expectantly _(please let this work!)_

" If I had the right supplies here I would put an IV into her. Still, this should work just fine. I need you to help me open her mouth.... make sure that she swallows all of the medication, I don't want her to choke." 

Mara poured the medicine into the woman's mouth. She waited and then smiled in satisfaction as the woman swallowed the Tylenol without a struggle. She sighed to herself. _(That should stop the fever and ease her pain)_ She was positive that the woman had typhoid. Now she had to determine the severity of the infection and whether or not the internal bleeding was caused by intestinal perforation. _(Let's hope not.)_ She gently began to her examination, carefully explaining her actions in the attempt to calm both the little boy and his father.. 

Her hands dipped down to the pelvic juncture and she stopped._ (Dammit...dammit to hell!)_. Mara closed her eyes and sighed _(This is not good.....) _She carefully placed her hands on the woman and felt the rounded lump in her lower abdomen again. She looked over at the husband quickly _(Does he know?_)Situations like this were risky......especially when the spouse was more than capable of physical violence _(I can't risk another outburst. I'll wait until the woman wakes up.)_

"What's wrong?" Kenshin asked, worried at the grim expression on the doctor's face.

"Her abdomen is very swollen from the typhoid. I will need to have her come into my office as soon as she's able to run some tests to make sure that there's no permanent damage. _(That's right....lie through your teeth!) _The good news is that I can't feel any sign of perforation. She should make a complete recovery within a week or two."

"She will live then?" 

"Yes, barring any unforseen complications." 

"I don't know what to say........." Mara could feel the man's gaze on her. " I am sorry." Kenshin said quietly. " I thought that you....were trying to harm her. I was nearly insane with the fear and grief that she was going to die and then to see a stranger.....trying to touch her ." He shut his eyes and willed his tattered emotions to be still. "This is all my fault. I wasn't here to take care of her, to take care of my son.He looked over at the tall woman and could already see the faint traces of a bruise where he had held her. _(How can I make this right..not only to her, but to Kenji? My son saw everything! He will never be able to trust me again.) _Kenshin covered his eyes with a hand and shuddered, trying to assimilate everything from the evening and finding that he was completely overwhelmed.

Mara looked at the man's violet eyes. They were shadowed with exhaustion and filled with remorse, and sorrow over what had happened. _(Well I'll be damned, he might not be so terrible after all.) _

"I know that this has been stressful for you, but blaming yourself isn't going to make the situation better!" 

"I should have been here." Kenshin shook his head, refusing to accept the doctor's absolution.

"Yes, that's true, but you weren't and there's nothing you can do about it. Instead of arguing with me, why don't you go and put your son to bed. He's had a terrible evening and needs sleep." She watched as the red headed man carefully picked up his son, ignoring the boys cried that he needed to stay with his mother. _(Sorry kid, but your dad's the one that needs some alone time with you.) _Mara shook her head as Kenji continued wailing down the hall despite his father's attempts to calm him. _(Oh, the therapy bills for this family are going to be out of this world!)_

After a few minutes, Kenshin came back into the room and knelt by the futon. He looked at Kaoru's face and was relieved to see that she looked much better, her face showing no signs of the pain that had wracked her frame all day. Her fever too, was lessening, (_What was that in that medicine?)_ Kenshin had never seen anything work so quickly.He gently brushed an errant lock of hair from his wife's face. It was much thinner than it should have been, a reminder of the illness and neglect she was suffering from._ (I wasn't here to help you .)_ He gently kissed her forehead in silent apology and then turned when he realized that the strange doctor was staring at him__

"He finally went to bed?" Mara asked as she carefully started cleaning up any traces of the bloody vomit, trying not to get any on her clothes. 

"Yes. He was very tired."

"I can imagine." Mara grimaced as she pulled back the soaked blanket. The woman's yukata was drenched in blood and sweat. _(What a mess!) _ "We need to get your wife cleaned up. Where do you keep your spare bedding and clothing?"__

Within minutes, Kenshin had a freshly made bed waiting for Kaoru. He looked over as Mara cleaned Kaoru up with some clean water that she had found next to the bed. _(I could have done that...she is my wife after all)_ For some reason, the doctor had insisted that she be the one to clean Kaoru up. Even now, she had positioned her body in a way that he could barely see his wife's form. _(Perhaps she is just being modest...that must be it.)_

Mara quickly finished and put a fresh robe on the sick woman _(I don't think he saw anything. Luckily, she's still not showing much.) _She quickly covered her with the fresh blanket before her husband could come over and help._(That will give me some time to try and figure out what I should do.) _

Now that her task was finished, Mara realized that she too was in need of care. _(My hell! What a night !)_ She was stiff, tired, in serious pain, and more than a little angry. _(Any doctor could have, and should have prescribed an antibiotic regimen that would have cleaned this up without any "complications". It would have saved this family a lot of worry, not to mention me nearly getting strangled.)_ She reflexively rubbed her sore throat. _(Dammit, I'm going to have on hell of a bruise come morning) _She looked over at the husband and couldn't help but shoot him a dirty look. 

"I think that your wife is going to be okay for the evening. I'm going to leave you with a bottle of the Tylenol and some antibiotics . Do you know if she's allergic to penicillin?"

"I don't know....I've never heard of a medicine by that name." He tried to ignore the look the doctor was giving him. "How does it work?"

"It kills the bacteria that are causing her illness and allows her own immune system to kick in." Mara looked at the woman carefully, trying to guess how much she weighed _(I'll bet none of them have ever had antibiotics in their systems, better start with a low dosage...just in case there's a reaction.)_ She took out a capsule and handed it to the man, watching his reaction. Kenshin looked at the green, oval shaped object carefully. _(What is this?)_

"What do I do with it?" 

"Put it in her mouth....and have her swallow it with a glass of water." Mara was almost exasperated _(Holy hell, this man's either an idiot or he's never seen a pill before!) _She walked over to the woman and tilted her head up.

"I need some water."

Kenshin nodded and quickly ran out to the well. When he came back with a bucket , the doctor looked at him like he was crazy. 

"Let me guess, no running water in the house?" 

"Running water?" Kenshin managed, not sure what the doctor was referring to.

"Never mind! Mara snapped. She put the capsule in the woman's mouth and carefully poured a bit of water down her patient's throat. 

Kaoru reflexively swallowed, and gasped. After a second, she relaxed with a sigh and feel back to sleep.

"That should do it. She should be able rest for the rest of the night." Mara stood up and groaned in pain. "I need to get home and down a bottle of Ibuprofen before my throat swells shut. I'll be back in the morning to check on your wife." Mara knew she was being brusque, but her throat was throbbing, her stomach was sore from being shoved and she had not had a decent night's sleep in about three days _(Hanging out with the dysfunctional granola family isn't helping either, I bet they don't even have a phone!) _She grabbed the duffel bag and started stuffing her medical supplies into it. The pain in her throat worsened, and with it her temper.

Kenshin watched the woman wince as she swallowed_ . (She can barely breathe....Gods! , I'm lucky that I didn't snap her neck!)_

_ "_Doctor, I need to apologize..." __

"Skip it! I'm not even in the mood to discuss what happened." Mara cut him off with a wave of her hand. "I recommend that you look into some anger management classes. You have some serious "issues" that you need to work out - preferably without the use of violence." Mara ignored the strange expression on the man's face. "I have only one more question for you before I call a taxi to take me home. Why didn't you take her to a reputable doctor when you realized how sick she was? You could have saved everyone a lot of grief, not to mention me nearly being killed! All she needed was a simple prescription and she would have never gotten this sick."

"I have been to the doctor, twice now . He told me that there was nothing that could be done for her! Do you honestly think that I would have allowed her to fall this ill if there was anything at all that I could have done for her ? I have never seen this medicine that you gave her, in all my life I have never seen anything work so quickly. Where did you get it?

"It's Tylenol, you can get it at any drug store." Kenshin frowned at her response. 

" I have never seen any medicine like that in my life, nor has Dr. Genzai. If he had medicine like that then so many people would not be dying. Do you really think that we are so cold as to withhold something like that ?" Kenshin was becoming angry at the insinuations that this doctor was making."

"Dying!" Mara gasped, "What people are dying? This disease, while serious, should not be fatal at all. Antibiotics will clear it up in days. I don't understand....Why would any doctor..." She looked up at the man before her, eyes widening as her mind finally put the pieces together._(Why indeed? Just look around this room!)_ Everyone was dressed in traditional clothing, the room around her had no traces of modern conveniences, the room was lit by the light of a kerosene lamp _(Why didn't I see it?)_ she thought _(Because I were too busy avoiding being strangled and had a patient that needed attention....oh yeah). _ Little warnings went off in her head and she felt suddenly sick to her stomach. A dull ache filled her head as she realized what had occurred. _(How in the hell did this happen?) _She thought back to her conversation with the strange woman in her office _(Is this what she meant by "unexpected difficulties" ?)_ Mara had a long list of things that she didn't believe in. (time travel, and reincarnation being near the top, along with the Easter Bunny and paying traffic tickets in a timely manner) The idea that she had somehow ended up in another era was "distressing" to say the least. _(There has to be a reason, a perfectly logical reason for all of this.....)_ She glanced over at the man next to her and tried to ignore the strange look on his face.

"Am I still in Tokyo?" She whispered.

"Yes, of course." _(What brought this up?)_ Kenshin backed away as he saw a combination of fear and disbelief settle in the woman's steel grey eyes.

"What year is it?" 

"1886. Are you all right?" Kenshin asked as the woman's face turned ashy. She was trembling and biting her lower lip. He stood up and walked over to her. "What's wrong?"

Mara bowed her head fighting the urge to cry and or run away. _(What am I supposed to do now? How do I get back home?)_.Her mind recalled a bus heading towards her... and then the feeling of darkness overtaking her.....transporting her. _(Do I even have a home to return to?)_ She looked down into the concerned eyes of a man who only hours before had been inches from taking her life. _(This is too much)_ her mind whispered _(too much too soon - let's take a breather)_ and she promptly passed out. 

  


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Coming up in the next chapter......

  


Yahiko stumbled out of the house and flopped down on the stairs, too exhausted and sad to care where he landed. He wanted to put his hands in his head and bawl like a kid, but he was covered in blood, and the doctor had threatened him with his life if he touched anything or anyone before he washed. Despite her fatigue, he knew that the lady was more than capable of making due on her threats. _(Gods! That woman is the most bossy, overbearing, opinionated....)_ Yahiko stood up and marched over to the well. _(loud mouthed, order giving, man hating....) _His tirade continued as he washed himself carefully, making sure that the dirty water was well away from the well and the dipper that people used for drinking _(Over sensitive, sharp tongued, racoon faced.....) _The list went on and on as he flung off his bloody gi and threw it in the wash tub. He was on the thirty-fifth character flaw when he heard someone coming out of the house. It was the doctor. Her expression was as despondent and worn out as his own...... 

  


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_ HA! I bet you thought I forget the legal disclaimer...._

  


_ Rurouni Kenshin is the exclusive property of Nobuhiro Watsuke and associated parties. The characters and are used as an expression of fan appreciation for the non-profit purpose of entertainment only and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the above listed entities. Original portions of this story (Including...but not limited to the character of Dr. Mara Mogensen) are the copyright of the author. This is a fictional story and any similarity with person(s) living or dead is entirely coincidental. _

  


**I borrowed part of this disclaimer from SAGE (Authoress of the incomparable Citrus Grove)**


	2. Priorities Part Two

_ Ask and ye shall receive.....To be honest, I wasn't planning on updating quite so soon....but thanks to some wonderful reviewers and a well placed hint from my husband, here's chapter two..... (Individual responses to the reviewers follow the story....THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!)_

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_Rurouni Kenshin is the exclusive property of Nobuhiro Watsuke and associated parties. The characters and are used as an expression of fan appreciation for the non-profit purpose of entertainment only and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the above listed entities. Original portions of this story (Including...but not limited to the character of Dr. Mara Mogensen) are the copyright of the author. This is a fictional story and any similarity with person(s) living or dead is entirely coincidental. _

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AS TIME GOES BY 

Chapter 2

  


The Following Morning

  


What was left of the night passed silently. As the stars made their celestial journey across the dark sky, the inhabitants of the house slept, or at least tried to. One man had blood soaked dreams, where macabre images of death, sorrow, and loss slammed through his mind's eye with their usual ferocity, depriving him of hope and peace, promising a damned eternity without hope of atonement or the love of the one whom he held most dear, a dream intense enough to leave him pale and shaking in the predawn gloom. A grey eyed woman slept fitfully, the events of the previous evening warping into a nightmarish scene. She was dying, her throat ripped apart without a second thought . Sometimes, instead of her death, it was her husband who was dying, though in a manner far more brutal than any human being should endure. As she held his broken body in her arms, she wrenched her head back and screamed, the sound waking her instantly. In another room, a little boy tossed and turned, trying to escape with his mother from a yellow eyed monster, who one moment was ready to eat them and then in a flash was a small gentle man who took him on walks and tried to teach him to fish. He whimpered in his sleep, reaching out vainly for a hand to hold. And finally, a mother and wife dreamt. Her visions, unlike the others were of a more gentle nature.....the sensations of a child moving in her womb, the pain and joy of giving birth, the safety and desire she felt when she was lying in arms of her husband as they made love. _(Kenshin....)_ The name was whispered over and over again, prayer like in its tone, a plea for a man who she loved and had lost....and now was losing again.

"Kenshin!" Kaoru's eyes snapped open, her dark blue iris's nearly hidden by black pupils. As they adjusted to the dimly lit bedroom she saw her husband next to her bed, crouched in a sitting position that she knew from experience meant his mind and heart were in turmoil. The unconscious clenching of his fists and the slight groans that filtered up from his chest confirmed her suspicion that he was having nightmares._(Even now, after all these years....a simple night's rest is denied him)_ Kaoru sighed and leaned over, gently wrapping her arms around the man's slim shoulders, whispering soft words to soothe the damage away.

"Shhhh....It's all right. You're safe, Kenshin." She murmured, willing him to relax, to simply rest from the mental prison that a life time of pain had built. The gradual loosening of muscles told her that it was working. After a few minutes, even her husband's breathing slowed to a normal level, indicating that the nightmare was over, that he had entered a dreamless state of sleep that would rejuvenate his body. _(It's not his body that needs rest....)_

Kaoru carefully drew away, hoping not to wake him. She felt tired and sore, especially in her belly. _(Oh, please let the baby be all right...please!)_ A slender white hand passed over the barely detectable bulge, as if to banish any harm from the child within. She looked over at her husband again and sadly smiled. _(He needs to know...It's only a matter of time before it becomes obvious that I am carrying his child. Another child that will grow up without a father....)_

Since he gave his sword to Yahiko two years earlier, Kenshin had been away from home on a nearly constant basis, working for....no...being manipulated by a government that he had nearly destroyed himself to help create. Kaoru shook her head _(Even now, he is nothing more than a pawn.... a tool for them to move as they will without thought of his safety or the needs of his family.)_ The results of his long absences were obvious, at least to Kaoru. Kenji couldn't stand his father, viewing him as an interloper who disrupted his sense of security and vied for the time and affections of his remaining parent. His response to this latest homecoming had been heartbreaking, she remembered the hurt look in Kenshin's eyes as the boy refused to even hug him, crying out in that he wanted this man to go away and not come back.. _(How will I manage another one ? I can barely take care of Kenji and myself as is.)_

Kaoru knew that as the pregnancy progressed, she would be unable to keep up her rigorous teaching schedule. Yahiko had promised of course, to shoulder the load, but she knew that it would be too much for the seventeen year old to handle on his own. _(I was his age when I met Kenshin...It seems like a lifetime ago!) _She quietly laughed, remembering her insane attempt to confront the infamous Battosai, and the results of her impetuous actions, the glib way she had assured the man that his past didn't matter, that what was done was done. Her laugh turned into a sob as the reality of her situation came back to her _(What a fool I was! Kenshin's past still controls him today, and always will - no matter the toll it takes on himself or those who love him)_

She loved her husband dearly, and knew that in spite of what was happening, she always would. Her feelings for him had changed over the years, from the innocent ardor of a young girl to the more experienced love of a woman, a woman now familiar with the joys and sorrows that being with Kenshin mandated. She now realized that despite her best attempts to bring the man peace and love, it would never be enough to rid him of the guilt and pain of another era. He would always be searching for a way to atone, to make things right with the numerous souls he had slain as a boy. _(Even at the expense of a child and wife_.._he will continue searching for the rest of his life)_ Kaoru covered her face and silently wept. _(It's not fair! He has done so much, sacrificed himself over and over again...and for what? A half life with a family that he never sees, an unending cycle of tearful farewells and painful reunions!) _She brought her knees up to her chest, trying to ignore the ripples of pain that were radiating through her body, and cried. She wept for the loss of her illusions, that her love wasn't enough to make a broken man whole, that her children would never have a father who loved them enough to be there for them, and she wept for herself, afraid that she wouldn't have the strength to endure a lifetime of losing him over and over again.

Kenshin watched her silently as she wept. He had, at the first gentle whisper of his name, been awake.....battle trained senses alert the instant his wife touched him, saving him from the nightmares that had tormented him, visions of a shrouded, withered Kaoru, dead from disease and his neglect....images of his little boy attacking him, the child's eyes red with battle lust and hate...the sickening sound of vertebrae snapping as he killed a woman for daring to utter the name of his dead wife. _(No! It was a dream, nothing more...)_ He inhaled deeply, harnessing the iron control of his will to stop the images from replaying in his mind. _(It was a dream.)_ The dark thoughts instantly vanished, leaving him with the sounds of his wife weeping.

In the nearly eight years that he had known this woman, he had never seen, nor felt such sorrow from her. It was a palpable presence, radiating out and encompassing him with unfiltered feelings of pain, abandonment, fear and anger. Kenshin fought the urge to back away from the emotional onslaught, knowing that it was imperative he find the cause of his beloved's pain, fearful that the trigger for these emotions was himself. He winced as he saw Kaoru's nails digging into her forearm, drawing blood in her attempts to silently cry. _(No, I will not permit you any more pain, not like this....not when I am the one who deserves your anger)._

"Kaoru, stop." He carefully took her slender arms in his hands, unwilling to see her harm herself. A part of his mind registered that she was no longer feverish, her body temperature finally normal _(Thank the Gods!)_. He was amazed how much better she was already looking, her fever gone , the only traces of her illness a slight rash on her chest and the broken capillaries around her eyes and mouth from her repeated bouts of nausea. His finger's tightened around her wrists as he remembered the agony that he had felt last night as he had contemplated a life without her, how he had cried out to the night for someone to spare this woman that he had grown to love and need more than anything else in this world. And someone had, despite his attacking her and nearly crushing her windpipe in the mistaken attempt to protect his family. He wondered again about the medicine and the strange tools that the doctor had used, and how she had (before she passed out) asked where she was and what year they were living in. Kenshin sighed, he would need to try and apologize to the woman for the way that he had hurt her and then properly thank her for saving Kaoru's life, but first, he needed to try and ease the pain that was evident in his wife's pale face.

"Tell me what's wrong." He whispered as he tried to wipe tears away. "Kaoru, please...." He groaned inwardly as she shook her head and tried to move away from him, her actions causing pain and fear to gnaw at his heart. Kaoru laid back down on the futon, wincing as pain lanced through her abdomen. She reflexively covered her belly for an instant, hoping that the pains didn't mean anything, sick with the understanding that they probably did. She whimpered and closed her eyes, not ready to face her husband's tender face, not willing to share the fear and pain with a man who despite his best intentions had broken her heart.

"I'm sorry, Kenshin...I can't....." She rolled away from him, tucking herself into a ball. "Please.....I need to rest." 

In the other room Mara was trying to wake up. Normally, a clock radio would be responsible for rousing her from sleep, jarring her with the loud sounds of Japanese rock and roll (she had the annoying habit of sleeping through classical pieces) Her situation was far from normal though, instead of a radio it was the persistent, not so gentle touch of a five year old pulling on her hair.

"Ow! Hey, knock it off!" She looked up and yelped as she realized it was the brown haired boy from the previous evening. _(It wasn't a dream then....damn!)_ The child _(Kenji?)_ frowned at her outburst and continued to play with the inky curls, fascinated with the texture. 

"Kenji...What am I doing here?" Mara sat up and gingerly rotated her slim neck _(Ow, ow, ow ...okay that was a bad idea!)_ Her throat was on fire and the slightest motion hurt like hell. She looked at the little boy and was concerned at the angry expression on the childish face. He was staring at her throat, frowning.

"He hurt you." He pointed at the woman's throat which was swollen and covered with a dark purple bruise. 

"Yes, he did....."Mara didn't know what to say to the child. It would have been an insult to his intelligence and her own to pretend that nothing had happened. Still, she didn't want to further an already large gulf between a father and son. "He thought I was trying to hurt your mom and he got scared. Sometimes, Kenji, when grown ups are afraid they make wrong choices." She smiled and stood up, still shaky with the realization that somehow she had ended up 120 years in the past. _(It can't be helped...I'll deal with it later.)_

"Are you mad?"

"What?" she realized that she had been spacing out, and refocused on what the child was saying.

"Are you mad at my daddy for hitting you?"

" He made a mistake, one that I'm sure he feels bad about." She knelt down and looked into the boy's blue violet eyes. "I am going to forgive him for hitting me. Do you think that you can forgive him for scaring you?" For some reason, Mara felt compelled to try and help the boy work out his feelings of anger, knowing that he was too young to dwell on such dark feelings.

"I don't know." Kenji shook his head. "I wish he would go away and leave Mommy and me alone." Kenji looked away, feeling guilty for verbalizing the wishes of his heart. The last time he had said it, he had caused his mommy to cry and his daddy to look angry. "He goes away for a long time, and it makes Mommy cry. I don't like to see her sad."

"Of course not, you're a good boy." Mara patted him on the shoulder. "When I was a little girl, my dad was gone a lot. I missed him very much and sometimes, I even got angry at him for not spending time with me."

"Your daddy went away too?" Kenji looked up with interest

"Yes. But I realized as I got older that he went away because he was trying to make things better for me. Someday Kenji, when you are all grown up, you'll understand what I mean." 

"Promise?" The trust in the voice was endearing, despite the subject matter. Mara reached out and hugged him. "I promise. Now, let's go and see how your mom is feeling." 

Kenji was out of the room like a flash and down the hallway. 

"Momma!" He burst into the room and dove unto the futon before Kenshin could stop him. "Are you feeling better?" He looked carefully at his mother's face and frowned as he saw tears on her face. He leaned up and wiped them away with a chubby hand. Kaoru hugged him and kissed his forehead.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm just a little tired." She snuggled the boy next to her, grateful for the contact. "I am feeling much better. You and Daddy did a good job taking care of me." 

"Yes, they did." Kaoru looked up at the unfamiliar voice, then gasped with surprise. _(Sweet Gods above....She's so tall!)_ It was the only coherent thought that she could come up with as the dark haired foreigner smiled and stepped into the bedroom. 

"I'm glad to see you're awake. You gave your husband and son quite a scare last night." Mara walked over to the futon and knelt down beside the woman. Kaoru noticed that her eyes were the color of steel, and were at the moments focusing on her husband in a decidedly cool manner.

"Kaoru, this is Doctor...." Kenshin paused unsure how to pronounce the woman's strange last name. 

"I'm Mara Mogensen. Pleased to meet you." Mara took Kaoru's hand and shook it, pleased at the lack of fever. "It looks like the antibiotics are kicking in quite nicely." She turned to look at Kenshin and hissed as her throat protested the motion. Kaoru gasped at the sight of a terrible bruise that covered the woman's entire throat, swollen splotches of purple and blue marring the pale skin.

"Are you all right?" The concern in her patient's voice was evident. _(I should have covered this before I came in here) _Mara nodded and smiled, hoping that she could come up with a plausible explanation before....

"Daddy hit her." Kenji's said in a smug voice as he bounced on the edge of the futon.

_(Oh shit.)_ The thought was echoed by both Kenshin and Mara. They both looked at Kaoru as the woman's eyes traveled from the marred throat to her husband and then back again. 

"Kenshin? I don't understand......What on earth happened?" Kaoru asked in a horrified voice, stunned that her husband was somehow responsible for the marks on the doctor's throat. She looked back at her him, hoping for an explanation. Kenshin looked at her silently, not knowing what to say. 

"It was an accident." Mara said as she stood up and walked over to where her duffel bag was lying on the floor. "You're husband was trying to protect you and your son." She quickly found a bottle of Ibuprofen and swallowed four tablets, slightly gagging as they went down without water. Retrieving a stethoscope, exam light, blood pressure cuff and the bottle of antibiotics, she came back to where the her patient was lying and did her best to try and act like there was nothing wrong with the situation.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." She insisted "It was a misunderstanding, nothing more." 

"But..." Kenshin tried to interrupt.

"No butts about it! I'm fine. It was an accident. End of discussion." Mara looked over at Kenji and gave him a look that indicated that the boy had better not say another word about what had happened. _(You did that on purpose! Shame on you.)_ "Do you remember what I told you in the other room?"

"That it was a mistake." Kenji pouted

"That's right, a mistake....now tell your dad you're sorry!" Mara snapped, annoyed that the manipulations of a five year old had put everyone in a very difficult situation. __

"I'm sorry." The boy whispered, his tone and stance indicating that he was anything but remorseful. He looked at Kenshin for a moment, stuck out his tongue, then ran out of the room ignoring his mother's protests. 

The three adults looked awkwardly at each other, not knowing what to say. Mara especially found herself in a sticky situation. On one hand, the man had hurt and scared her, and she wasn't in the habit of defending abusive behavior, not matter what the reason. On the other, was the knowledge that she was in another time period , an era that was infamous for it's brutality if she remembered her history. _(He was only trying to protect his wife and child from a stranger. I don't have the right to judge him too harshly)_ Last night she had seen that this man was capable of extreme violence and tender caring, and had decided, despite the risks, to follow her instincts and help his family. The professional part of her wondered which was his true nature and how a man could house two such extremes in one soul. _(He's not quite bi-polar....and certainly not schizophrenic....) _Mara watched his eyes and was not surprised to see that they were sad._(I'd bet a box of doughnuts that he's suffering from a severe case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder....)_ They drifted down to her neck, now very bruised and sore, the outlines of his fingers on her throat livid and purple. Last night he seemed like a monster, yellow eyes flashing... today he was just a small, quiet man with haunted eyes that seemed to radiate remorse and embarrassment. _(Not to mention one hell of a personality fragmentation complex.....)_ She saw him shut his eyes in sorrow and watched pain and self-loathing etch themselves into his face. 

Kaoru could feel the tension crackling through the room like lightning. The sick expression on her husbands face confirmed Kenji's accusation. Somehow, for whatever reason, Kenshin had attacked the woman standing next to her, nearly crushing her throat by the look and depth of the bruising. _(What happened? Why don't I remember?)_ The only memories that Kaoru retained from the previous evening were hazy fragments of conversations, bursts of distorted images. She knew that she had been sick, the bedding and robe she wore were fresh, and her body was still far from well. This fact was emphasized by the almost continuous feelings of pain in her abdomen. She wrapped her arms around her waist, tying to ignore the spasms that tore through her, focusing instead on the tall doctor that was now looking at her with a hard expression.

"How bad is it?" Mara knelt down frowning as the woman insisted that nothing was the matter. She knew that a certain amount of pain and cramping was normal with Typhoid, it was the possibility that the pregnancy was terminating that had her concerned. She looked into the mother's blue eyes, tying to gauge the pain by the woman's expression. She could see pain, yes....and fear. _(She knows that her baby's in danger. How in the hell am I going to give her a pelvic with her husband standing here?) _She looked over at the man hoping that he would agree to what she was about to ask him.

"There is the possibility that there are internal complications, and I wouldn't want your son coming into the bedroom while I am examining your wife. Would you mind leaving the room for a few moments and make sure that he doesn't run back in here?"

Kenshin watched the doctor's face carefully. _(You're not telling me everything. You don't want me in here....)_ He recalled how the woman had been almost ridiculously careful to shield Kaoru from him when she had been cleaning her up. _(You don't want me to see Kaoru.....why?)_

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong with my wife." Kenshin could tell that he was making the woman angry and didn't care. _(I'm not leaving her alone with you.)_

"I just need to examine her and make sure that she's all right." Mara said, knowing that her explanation wouldn't fly. "I don't want her to be uncomfortable, that's all."

"Don't lie to me." Kenshin softly growled, walking towards the doctor. "This is the second time you've lied to my face and I won't stand for it."

"When did I lie?" Mara snapped. "Enlighten me. Was it before or after you nearly ripped my throat out?"

"Please....stop." Kaoru winced as another set of cramps took her breath away. I'll be fine, Kenshin. Why don't you go check on Kenji while Dr. Mogensen examines me."

"Kaoru..." Kenshin turned and looked at her with almost a stunned expression on his face. "I don't think that's a good idea."_(Don't ask me to go!)_

"I'll be all right."

Kenshin turned to the tall doctor."You do anything to hurt her..."

Mara narrowed her eyes coldly. "I'm a doctor you moron! I'm not in the habit of harming my patients. Besides, I got a good taste of what you're capable of last night." _(Try that again Carrot Head, and you're liable to get a face full of pepper spray!)_

"Kenshin, just go! Please!" Kaoru begged, trying not to cry.

"Fine!" Kenshin whispered, angry and hurt at his wife's curt dismissal. He turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the sliding door shut behind him. 

"I'm sorry about that." Mara said as she helped Kaoru lay back on the bed. "I didn't want him in here when I gave you a pelvic exam. She rummaged through her bag looking for a clean pair of gloves and some lubricant. "I am correct in assuming that he doesn't know about the pregnancy?"

Kaoru gasped and nodded. "How...?"

"Last night, when I examined you. I'm guessing you're what....three or four months along?"

"Five and a half."

"Really? You're really not showing much for being in the second trimester._(She's too small! This isn't a good sign)_ The doctor smiled pleasantly, not wanting to cause the sick woman concern.

Kaoru closed her eyes as Mara pressed on the side of her belly. "Is the baby going to be all right?" She gritted her teeth as she felt the doctor's hand inside of her . 

"I know, it hurts. I'm checking to see whether your cervix is softening." Mara apologized as she pressed harder against the woman's belly. ""Ahhh....good. No sign of dilation or any bleeding." She smiled at Kaoru to reassure her. "That's a good sign. Now, let's see if we can find a heartbeat." She placed the instrument on the left side of the sick woman's tender abdomen...waited for a few seconds.....then on the right side......_(Nothing...damn.)_ "I can't detect a heartbeat, but it's nothing to worry about, you're still might be a little early for a stethoscope to pick anything up." She sat up and pulled her gloves off. _(Now for the bad part of my job....)_ "You've been very sick Ma'am."

"Please, call me Kaoru."

"Kaoru, you have had a high fever and are still battling a bad case of Typhoid. I'm not going to lie to you and say that I'm not concerned about the baby because I am." She covered the smaller woman's hand with her own, knowing that what she was saying was painful to hear. "There is the distinct possibility that the baby won't make it...... I'm sorry." 

Kaoru closed her eyes and tried not to sob. "Is there any chance at all?"

"Of course, there's a chance that everything will be just fine. I just want you to be prepared in case something happens." 

"What am I going to tell Kenshin?" The question was directed more to herself than the doctor.

Mara patted the younger woman on the arm. "I know that you have your reasons for not telling your husband, and I respect the choice you've made. Just make sure that your reasons for not confiding in him outweigh the reasons for trusting him with this information. Despite my better judgement, I still think that he's a pretty good guy that really loves you. Okay?" She took out a pen and a notepad from her bag.

"I'm going to write down the instructions for your medicine and treatment. Make sure that you don't let your son near the medicine, it could make him sick if he eats any." Mara sat down and flipped open the notepad. She carefully wrote all the instructions down along with the dosage levels and what to do in an emergency. 

"Your husband mentioned that there was a clinic where there are more sick people. Do you know how to get there?" 

Kaoru nodded and quietly gave directions to the young doctor. For some reason, she was sorry that the woman was leaving, despite the obvious tension between her and Kenshin. Mara finished writing the directions down and snapped the notebook shut with a sigh. 

"If anything happens, anything at all....I'll be over at the clinic. Is there someone that you can send if you get into trouble?" Mara wanted to make sure that the woman would be okay. 

"Yes, one of my students is aware of my condition." She looked away for a second. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I know that Kaoru! It's that husband and son of your's that have me worried. They would be in serious trouble without you to watch over them. Now, promise me that you'll take it easy and let me know if there's anything I can do to help. Mara waited until Kaoru nodded before she closed up her duffle bag and started to leave.

"Doctor, wait!" Kaoru called out "I want to thank you for all your help.....and to apologize. I don't understand what happened...but I'm so sorry that he hurt you...I hope you'll believe me when I tell you that he really is a kind, good man." 

"I'm sure he is......" Mara nodded. "We just got off on the wrong foot." She smiled and quickly walked out of the room before Kaoru could say another word. 

"Well?" Kenshin was standing outside the door waiting. The concern in his voice was unmistakable._(Bless his heart, he's just worried about his wife....give the man a break!)_ Mara looked at him for a minute, trying to decide whether a well placed hint was in order. The look on the man's face convinced her that a slight bending of patient confidentiality would be warranted. _(Hey, it not like the hospital board will find out about this one.)_

"For the moment, your wife is fine. I left instructions for her medicine and how to treat her illness. She know's how to get a hold of me if there are any problems." Mara put her bag down and leaned against the opposite wall. She stared at the shorter man for a moment. Kenshin stared right back. Finally, Mara snorted and chuckled "You and I didn't exactly make the best first impressions did we?"

Kenshin merely lifted an eyebrow at the obvious understatement. "No, we didn't."

"I know it's a little late to try and be civil, after all, I managed to call you a moron and you well.....you know........._(Oh this is good...smooth Mogensen, very smooth)_ Mara shrugged. 

"What I'm trying to say is that despite what we both think of each other, you and I really do have Kaoru's best interests at heart. She is going through a lot right now and needs someone that she can talk to......there is something really important that she needs to tell you, and she's not sure how to do it." _(Hope that's enough of a hint, cause it's all you're going to get.)_ Mara hefted her duffle bag onto her shoulder and prepared to leave. "I also need to apologize for losing my temper earlier. It was unprofessional and uncalled for." She was about to leave when the man called out to her.

"I am the one who needs to apologize for my behavior the last night, and thank you for all that you did in spite of how I treated you." Kenshin sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. "I normally would never lay a hand on a woman in anger. I just didn't know that you meant well, and after all that has happened to her, I couldn't take a chance. I can only hope that you will eventually forgive me."

"Just forget about it.....all right? You were trying to protect your family. " Her tone suggested that the subject was closed. "Please tell Kenji good bye for me. I hope that you and your son can work things out." Mara turned and walked away, leaving Kenshin to his own thoughts. 

  


Three Days Later

_(I am going to die.....right here, right now!)_ Mara kicked open the door from the dispensary room, hands full of bed linen. She looked exhausted and her eyes were red and puffy from the chronic lack of sleep. Staggering into the main foyer of the clinic she carefully put the bedding on a waiting bench and sunk down to her knees. She closed her eyes and shuddered, despite the warm summer breeze that gently wafted through an open window. _(I can't go back out there.....It's 's too much....too much for a person to stand...)_ She wished that the images in her mind would stop, that she could forget the sights, sounds and smells of suffering and pain. Her smile was bitter as she recalled her feelings of inadequacy when she had been unable to plot a variance table correctly, or when an argument with an anal retentive hospital administrator had caused her to become upset. _(How utterly trivial compared to the hell of seeing people die before my eyes, unable to do more than comfort then out of life!) _She could hear a man shouting outside and tried to ignore it. _(I want to go home! I shouldn't be here!) _Mara was in over her head and she knew it. She was an Epidemiologist by choice, a scientist, trained to track illness - to investigate it's origins and conduct research on how to best combat its spread. She had worked in hospitals before, everyone going through medical school did their turn in the different disciplines. She had seen death and dying, sat by more bedsides than she could remember easing pain, prolonging the quality of life but this was different. There was no morphine drip for the pain, no antibiotics for the infection - just herbs, water and backbreaking manual labor to try and save once person, only to have them die in agony. Mara had never worked so hard in her life, and with so little to show for it. _(I thought that I could just waltz in here and save everyone...I didn't even think that I might not have nearly enough medicine for thirty-eight Typhoid patients !) _She had been able to only help a handful, no more than eighteen . The rest had died or would be dead by the end of the day. _(And now I'm completely out of antibiotics !)_ A whimper escaped her lips as she tried to force tired legs to stand, over strained muscles to move. 

"Dr. Mogensen!" she looked out the clinic window to see who was calling her name. "Is Mara Mogensen here?" It was a young man, in his late teens of early twenties, black spiky hair poking every which way. He looked like he had just come from a Karate class of some sort by the outfit he was wearing.

"I'm Dr. Mogensen, how may I help you?" Mara wearily walked out of the clinic to greet the stranger. 

"It's Kaoru!" The man grabbed her by the arm "You need to come with me now!"

Mara's face paled . "Oh, no...Is it the baby?" She had been dreading something like this for days. The man nodded, his handsome features pinched with fear."

"Yes. Please...we need to hurry!" 

"Hold on! I need to get my bag and tell Dr. Genzai that I'm leaving." Mara dashed into the clinic and grabbed her bag. She then called out for the doctor and followed the sound of his voice until she found him in the back room, trying to set a broken arm. 

"Doctor, there's an emergency, I'm sorry I need to leave at once!"

The old man looked up from his patient, concerned . "Is it the Himura residence? That young man sounded like Yahiko."

Mara nodded, her tired face grim.

"I know that you'll be able to help them. They are in good hands." Dr. Genzai smiled as the tall woman nodded her head in thanks and took off running. _(Very good hands, indeed.)_

Mara tore out of the clinic, trying to ignore the pain in her legs and fatigue that threatened to overwhelm her. She nodded at the young man and forced herself to move.

"Let's go!" Together they took off down the street towards the dojo hoping that they would make it in time to save Kaoru.

  


Later That Evening

  


Yahiko stumbled out of the house and flopped down on the stairs, too exhausted and sad to care where he landed. He wanted to put his hands in his head and bawl like a kid, but he was covered in blood, and the doctor had threatened him with his life if he touched anything or anyone before he washed. Despite her fatigue, he knew that the lady was more than capable of making due on her threats. _(Gods ! That woman is the most bossy, overbearing, opinionated....)_ Yahiko stood up and marched over to the well. _(Loud mouthed, order giving, man hating....) _His tirade continued as he washed himself carefully, making sure that the dirty water was well away from the well and the dipper that people used for drinking _(Over sensitive, sharp tongued, racoon faced.....) _The list went on and on as he flung off his bloody gi and threw it in the wash tub. He was on the thirty-fifth character flaw when he heard someone coming out of the house. It was the doctor. Her expression was as despondent and worn out as his own. 

Mara looked awful and she knew it._(It's nothing compared to what that poor woman and her husband went through today.....)_ She staggered over to the well and poured the icy water over her head, down her back, over and over again, trying to get herself clean. The water coming off her was dark pink and remained that way for some time. She took off her shirt, not caring that anyone might be watching and wrung it out several times, watching dispassionately as the amount of blood lessened with each soaking. _(There, that will do for now.) _ She looked up and realized that Yahiko was staring at her with a crimson face.

"What are you looking at?" 

"Nothing! I didn't mean to..." Yahiko stammered an apology as the woman put her shirt back on, trying desperately not to look at the ugly, raised scars that marred the doctor's pale stomach and left shoulder.

"The hell you didn't." Mara muttered. "Hand me your shirt, I'll clean it for you." She caught the gi and repeated the action until it too was blood free. She tossed it back to Yahiko and then started looking around the complex. _(Think! Dammit, Think!)_

"Where do you people bathe?"

"Over there." Yahiko pointed to the bath house. "Are you going to take a bath or something?

"No, it's for Kaoru's husband." Mara walked over to the bath and tried to figure out how to heat the damn thing. After a while she gave up and asked Yahiko for help. As she walked back into the house, as the young man's curses took on a whole new realm of creativity, causing Mara to crack a smile in spite of the situation. She knew that the man was venting his grief by being pissy and it didn't offend her in the least that she was the brunt of the tirade. _(What ever works.)_ She sighed and walked to the back bedroom, opened the door and peered inside.

The room was as dark as the mood inside. Kenshin was a kneeling next to the side of the futon, a gore covered statue devoid of any expression except simple and utter devastation. He didn't move a muscle, staring down at the still figure, no.... figures that were lying on his bed. Mara walked over to the man and knelt down, unsure of herself in such close proximity to a man who had been through so much in the space of a day. 

"Himura, Yahiko is preparing a bath for you." She frowned at the utter lack of response from the man. She carefully put her arm on his shoulder, hoping that the gesture would not be taken in the wrong way. The man ignored her and continued to look down at his wife.

"Kenshin." The doctor's use of his first name caused the man too look up with an almost dazed expression. "Kenshin, you need to get cleaned up." Mara's voice was low and soft as she tired to persuade him to go and bathe._(He hasn't moved from this spot for over an hour. He's still in terrible shock over what happened, not that I blame him...) "_ I'll stay right here until you come back. I won't leave Kaoru alone." 

"I left her alone....." The words came out so softly that Mara could barely understand them. Kenshin shut his eyes as hot angry tears stared to sting. The magnitude of his failure was simply overwhelming, pounding his battered spirit into the ground over and over again. He had failed, once again, to protect the one person who mattered most to him. Only this time, it wasn't revenge for his past crimes, or the attempt to preserve Japan that had caused his Kaoru such pain, such suffering, it was himself, his neglect and absence to a wife who deserved much better. He was the weapon that had ripped his wife's body apart and killed an unborn, utterly defenseless child. Him. 

He could still her Kaoru's screams in his head, begging him over and over again to save their baby, to ease her pain. _(I tried....we tried....it was too soon...... she didn't stand a chance....)_ He looked over at the small bundle lying next to his wife and choked back a sob. The baby had been born without a heartbeat. Despite that, the doctor had worked ferociously for over thirty minutes to try and revive the tiny girl, refusing to give up until Kenshin told her that it was over and had took the body from her hands, wrapping it gently in linen before he laid it on the bed. _(Kaoru.)_ Even now, after almost two hours, she was still occasionally sobbing, even in a drug induced stupor. _(You were so brave.....you refused to cry out until the end...) _ Kenshin hesitantly brushed his fingers across Kaoru's pale face, wishing that he could have spared her the ordeal that she had suffered through for nearly thirteen hours. Despite her pain and fear, Kaoru had been stoic through everything, it was the sight of her dead child that had induced a state of hysteria that was so severe that Mara had to sedate her. Kaoru had fallen asleep begging Kenshin for his forgiveness, and for their lost child, her little hands grasping his arm until she was unconscious. _(I'm the one who should ask for your pardon......what happened today is my fault......I wasn't here to protect you, Kaoru. I'm so sorry.....) _

"Kenshin......look at me." Mara tilted his head so that the broken hearted man was looking into her eyes. She could see pain and guilt flickering in the violet iris's even in the low lit bedroom. "What happened today, while tragic, is not your fault. I warned Kaoru that this was a possibility. Her body was too ill to carry a baby and so the pregnancy terminated" Mara knew that she sounded cruel and cold, but it was essential that the husband not place any more blame on himself than he already had. "There is nothing you could have done to prevent this, even if you had been home."

"I should have been here."

"You're here now, and this is the time that your wife will need you the most._(Looks like being nice isn't working with this one, let's try another approach) "_ I want you to pull yourself together and get cleaned up!" Mara stood up and grabbed the smaller man by the arm. "Kaoru's sedative will be wearing off soon and I know that you are the only person that she wants to wake up to ....so get moving!" She nudged Kenshin out the door and made sure that he went into the bath before she came back and sat down by Kaoru's bedside. 

Early The Next Morning

Sunlight slowly filtered through the rice paper walls, illuminating the small bedroom in warmth. Kenshin could feel it on his skin, filtering through his clothing, the gentle heat a comforting sensation that eased the physical discomfort of lying on a wooden floor all night. _(I don't want to wake up.) _He knew that he needed to get up, start breakfast, make sure that Kaoru was all right. Instead he just lay there for a moment, feeling the rough grain of the wood against his palm and cheek, the gentle embrace that a blanket offered his back... _(Dr. Mogensen must have covered me up last night)_ With that thought, violet eyes opened.

Kenshin quietly sat up, ignoring the aches that had become a morning staple as the years passed._(I'm getting older....)_ His smile was rueful as he rubbed his stiff shoulder, hoping to reduce the pain that lying on it all night had produced. Kenshin made his way to the futon where Kaoru was still sleeping. He leaned over and kissed her gently, knowing that the woman was still too sedated to awake at the contact. Kenshin inhaled deeply, savoring the sensation of his wife's mouth against his lips. _(I've missed you...this...everything.)_ It had been months since he's had her in his arms, an eternity since they had been able to love one another. He broke the embrace regretfully, knowing that the waiting would have to continue until she had healed both in her body and heart.

Last night, as the sedatives had worn off, Kaoru had woken up. He had been there, waiting for her, fearful and uncertain of her reaction to the loss that she had suffered and to the man who had caused it. Kenshin had expected anger, at best a stony silence that spoke of her contempt for him. Kaoru's reaction had been quite different. She simply took his hand in hers and placed it against her heart, a gesture that spoke of her love and the pain that they both felt. There had been no words, just silent apologies on both sides for the harm that had been wrought. He regretted leaving her alone, she lamented that in her pain and loneliness she had not told him about their unborn child until it was too late to do anything but grieve. 

"Kenshin." 

"Kaoru!" He leaned over and took his wife's hand, thankful that she was awake, concerned that she was in pain. "How are you feeling?" 

"Tired." She smiled at his reaction. " I think that our good doctor was a little generous in the pain medication....I can't feel a thing." She looked at her husband's sad face, the way his expressive eyes still sought her forgiveness, the pallor of his features from a lack of sleep and the regrets that he had tried to express the night before. _(Stop. No more pain....I can't stand to see you hurting.) _Kaoru reached out and caressed his cheek gently, _(I was wrong not to tell you sooner, darling. I'm sorry .) _

Kenshin's eyes closed as he felt his wife touch him. Her fingers were warm, soothing, easing his bitter sorrow and regret as they brushed over his scarred cheek. It was a constant reminder to him of his past sins, crimes that he had committed in the name of youthful idealism, a desire to create a new and better world for people like his wife and son. _(What a fool I was....the only thing I created was sorrow and suffering for everyone that I came into contact with.)_ He opened his eyes and held Kaoru's hand next to his cheek. _(Especially you. A wonderful innocent girl that was willing to overlook my faults and simply love me for who I was. You have gone through so much...for so little.) _Kenshin moved over to the bed and wrapped his arms around Kaoru's thin shoulders.

_(I'm sorry Kaoru, I need to hold you...please forgive me.)_ He held her tightly against him, as he ran his fingers through her hair, kissed her forehead, whispered her name over and over like a benediction, praying for her love and forgiveness, a chance to make things better, the hope to see her smile. Kaoru too, touched him, knowing that the contact conveyed her love more than words ever could. Her arms wrapped around his strong neck, as she leaned against him, seeking and receiving the feelings of safety and protection that his embrace afforded her. Being in his arms kept the pain and loss at bay, reminding her that there was still a chance to be loved, cherished, needed. She sighed, smiled and then closed her eyes, unable to fight the combined effects of Mara's medication and the wonderful warmth of Kenshin's body against her own. 

"I love you." She whispered as sleep overtook her, content for the first time in months. "I...love....." Kenshin carefully settled his weight against the wall as he continued to hold his sleeping wife against him. _(I love you too.) _He leaned his head against hers, inhaling her familiar scent before he too slowly drifted back to sleep, knowing that at least for that moment in time, everything was perfect.

  


Two Weeks Later

Kenshin took the last of the laundry off the line and looked up at the sky. Dark thunder heads were billowing up to the west, heavy with rain. _(It's going to storm tonight, I'm glad I finished the laundry in time)_ He sighed and brushed his damp hair out his eyes, the already oppressive humidity somehow increasing as the storm drew closer. He was almost to the house when he heard the familiar voice of Dr. Genzai calling to him from the street.

"Good Afternoon!" Kenshin put the basket down and trotted over to where the old man was standing.

"Good Afternoon, Doctor. How are you and the girls doing?"

"Fine, fine....Both of them are enrolled in a private school, and doing splendidly! Can you believe it?" Dr. Genzai shook his head "I'm getting old, before long they'll be all grown up." He looked over Kenshin's shoulder into the courtyard where Kenji was running around, pretending to be a samurai. "Why, look at your son, he's grown since I saw him last! Is he still as "active" as he once was ?"

Kenshin nodded, inwardly smiling at the doctor's euphemism for Kenji's non - stop energy. "Yes, he is. Kaoru and I have our hands full with the boy. Still, that's normal for children.." Kenshin winced as his son let out a hair rasing screech as he "attacked" his mortal enemy (the wash basin) with his trusty katana (a rather unimpressive stick) "At least I hope it normal.."

Dr. Genzai laughed and slapped Kenshin's shoulder. "Oh Yes! Perfectly normal....We just don't remember being that young on account of our advancing age." Kenshin let the unintended insult slide. "I wanted to ask you, how is Kaoru doing ? The girl's and I are so worried about her."

"She is doing much better. Dr. Mogensen came over this morning and told Kaoru that she can finally move around the house. _(And it's a good thing, my poor wife was about to go crazy.)_

"She's the reason that I came to talk to you . I was hoping you could help convince her to consider staying on with me at the clinic." The older man sighed. "You would never believe how hard she worked to try and help those Typhoid cases. I don't know what I would have done without her." He thought of how wary he had been when the strange woman had shown up and offered to help, and how his skepticism had quickly turned into amazement as he watched her work. 

"Oh?" Kenshin was curious, Mara had never mentioned her work at the clinic in their conversations.

"She is easily the finest doctor that I have ever met, even if her techniques are strange and her manners are...well.....sometimes a little abrasive." He chuckled at the memory of Mara throwing a drunk man out of the clinic when he had tried to touch her inappropriately. _(I never knew a woman could use language like that!)_ "I'd be a fool not to try and convince her to stay and work at the clinic, while I still have time."

"Are you unwell?" Kenshin asked him with concern. 

"No, just an old man. I'm almost seventy, you know." Dr. Genzai smiled and patted Kenshin's arm. "Time passes, and like it or not, so do we. That's why I need you and Kaoru to talk to her, before some other doctor snatches her away."

"I promise I'll talk to her about it the next time I see her." 

"Won't she be coming back here this evening?" Dr. Genzai asked, confused at Kenshin's answer.

"No, not that I'm aware of. Why?"

"I...thought, I assumed that she was staying with you. After all, she talks about your family with great fondness." The old man shook his head. "I wonder where she goes at night?"

Kenshin frowned. "I'll speak with Kaoru, I'm sure that she knows."

Dr. Genzai nodded. "Of course. Well, I had better get back to the house and get the girls their dinner. Don't' forget !"

Kenshin waved as the man walked away before he went "I promise."

  


Later That Evening

Mara looked up at the dark sky and tried to hurry. _(Tonight's going to be a blast. Leaking water...what a treat!)_ She scowled darkly as the mental image of her room filling up with dirty water flitted through her mind. _(Who knows.....If I'm really lucky I might manage to contract a nice case of Cholera and get a one way ticket out of this hell hole!) _ Mara ran down the street, hoping to beat the rain, not aware that she was being followed. 

She arrived at her "home" fifteen minutes later. It consisted of a tiny room that was heated by a second hand smoking hibachi and lit by a Kerosene lamp that she had traded her sunglasses for. There was no futon, just an old, worn blanket that she had "borrowed" when a patient had died and the family had left it at the clinic. Other than that, the room was bare._(Martha Stewart would have a shit fit if she saw this place....)_ Mara reached out and slid open the door. The inside of the room was dark, and smelled like mildew. She put her duffle bag down, closed the door and made her way to the lamp, her fingers struggling to light a match.

"You won't be needing that honey. Not for what we'll be doing." A man's voice whispered in her ear as his dirty hands clamped over the surprised woman's mouth. _(Takashiri!)_ She recognized the voice, as well as the man's incredibly rank breath. He had staggered into the clinic a few day's earlier to be treated for injuries he had received in a fight. During the exam, the intoxicated man had tried to fondle Mara, and had been thrown out by the enraged woman, much to the delight of Dr. Genzai. She shook her head and tried to pull away from the drunk man. 

"What? Aren't you happy to see me?" He grabbed her hair and yanked hard, causing Mara to fall backward. Before she could try and get to the pepper spray in her duffle bag, the man was on top of her, straddling her waist with strong legs. _(No..no..no...!)_ She shook her head again and tried to buck him off. Takashiri seemed to enjoy the woman struggling and leered down at her as his free hand reached under her shirt and began pawing at her chest. 

_(No!)_ Mara bit down hard on the man's hand, tasting the tang of blood on her tongue. He yelled and jerked his bleeding hand away. 

"You bitch!" he snarled as he backhanded her. Mara cried out and tried to fight back. She managed to rake her nails down the side of his face before he grabbed her hands and pinned them above her head. 

"Help! Please! Someone help me!" Mara screamed. She tried to bite the man's arm, twisting against his grip. He hit her again. Mara groaned as the impact caused her vision to swim. Takashiri laughed and fumbled with the snap on the woman's pants. 

"I won't let you do this to me!" Mara snarled as the man shoved his knee between her legs. "You'll have to kill me first, you son of a bitch!" Suddenly, she felt her body jar as the man above her was thrown across the room. Mara opened her eyes in shock as a familiar form stepped between her and Takashiri. 

_(Kenshin!)_

He stood there impassively as Takashiri struggled to stand, cursing at the strange man for interrupting his fun.

"I will not permit you to harm this woman." Kenshin's voice was soft, yet lethal. 

Takashiri roared and ran at the shorter man, this time brandishing a small knife. Kenshin simply stepped back, caught the man's arm, twisted, and with a sickening pop, somehow wrenched it cleanly from the socket. Takashiri screamed in pain and dropped the knife from nerveless fingers. Kenshin shoved him out the door and watched angrily as the man stumbled away, groaning in pain. 

"Doctor Mogensen!" He ran over to where the woman was laying. She was panting and her grey eyes were dilated in a mixture of terror and fury. He cursed to himself as he saw that the woman's face had been badly beaten _(I didn't get here quickly enough.) _Kenshin wrapped his arm around Mara and helped her sit up. "Can you move?"

She nodded. 

"We need to leave. He'll be back soon with others." He grabbed the bag that was lying on the floor and quickly followed Mara out the door. Kenshin guided her carefully through the dark streets, his senses alert for any sign of danger. He looked over at the tall woman and wished that he had time to comfort her, to let her know that she was safe. _(As soon as we get home, it's still too risky to stop.) _Mara for her part, didn't say a word. She knew that she needed to thank Kenshin for saving her, but her body seemed to be on auto-function, her legs mindless things that simply took step after step, her mouth frozen in a straight, grim expression the belied the fear and disgust that were still churning in her stomach. They were half way to the dojo when the long threatening storm finally hit, drenching both of them in seconds. 

By the time they reached the courtyard, Mara was shaking violently, from both the cold and her body's delayed reaction to the assault. Kenshin helped her into the house and called out for his wife to come and help him.

"Mara!" Kaoru walked quickly into the hallway and embraced the trembling woman, oblivious to the cold water that soaked through her own clothing. A glance at Mara's bruised face and split lip told Kaoru that her friend had been beaten, they way the doctor trembled indicated that much worse might have occurred. "Oh, Mara....I'm sorry.... it's all right. You're safe." Kaoru gently whispered as she held Mara, knowing that the woman needed comfort and security at this moment. 

"Mara! Mara!" Kenji danced into the hallway, thrilled that his pal was back to play. He stopped in his tracks and started to whimper when he realized that his tall friend had been hurt. "What happened?" He ran over and tugged on his mother's kimono. "Mommy, what's wrong with Mara?" Kaoru looked up at the woman, unsure of what to say in such a delicate situation.

"I'm all right, Kenji." Mara forced a tight smile so the boy wouldn't be alarmed. She knelt down next to the child and patted his shoulder. "I just ran into a little trouble, that's all." Kenji pouted and tried to wipe some blood from the woman's lip. "Did you fall down?"

Mara shook her head. "No, there was a bad man who was grumpy with me. Your daddy made him go away and brought me to your house." 

"Daddy made him go away?" The boy tilted his head towards his father, eyes wide in amazement. 

"Yes, he did!" She looked up at Kenshin and smiled in gratitude. "He was very brave and protected me." 

Kenji thought things over for a second, then ran over and gave his father's leg a big hug. Kenshin knelt and hugged his son tightly, relishing the rare display of affection from his child. Kenji looked down and realized that his robe was now damp.

"Daddy, you're all wet!" He laughed. "Mommy is going to be yell at you for getting water on the floor!" 

"Kenji, why don't you come with me in the other room. It's time for bed." Kaoru gently but firmly escorted the protesting boy out of the hallway, leaving Kenshin alone to talk to Mara.

  


Later that Night

"Mara, what on Earth were you doing in that part of the city?" Kaoru was angry. "Why didn't you tell us that you needed a place to stay?" She marched over to the sitting woman and poured some more tea into her cup, ignoring Mara's protests that she was fine, and her husband's gentle hints that she needed to take easy. "Nonsense. You are going to be lucky if you don't catch a cold, or worse." She gave the taller a woman a look that shut her up without another word. _(And I thought her husband was scary when he was pissed. Wow!)_ Mara nodded and started sipping the tea obediently. 

Kenshin watched his wife indulgently. He knew that she was as frightened and angry about the situation as he was. She just handled it differently, much differently. _(Dr. Mogensen's lucky, if I pulled something like that, Kaoru would have my head on the wall)_. After his conversation with Dr. Genzai, Kenshin had decided that he would follow Mara home from the clinic. He had been horrified when the young woman had blithely walked into a very dangerous part of Tokyo, situated near the pleasure quarters. Several wrong turns in the dark alleys had separated him from the doctor, allowing enough time for that bastard of a man to harm her. He looked over at her bruised face and groaned. _(I should have been there sooner. I'm sorry.)_

"If you blame yourself for this , I swear I'll knock your red headed self into next week." Mara muttered, still sipping the scalding tea in an effort to appease Kaoru. "What happened is my fault." She had nearly bitten of a curse when she had recognized the familiar look of remorse cross the older man's face. _(Does he have to accept responsibility for everything under the sun?) _ "You saved my life. I won't allow you to diminish that with your overblown sense of guilt." 

"Doctor..." Kenshin was embarrassed.

"No, really. I'll make it up to you."

"Mara, you idiot. That man must have rattled your head. You don't owe us anything...." Kaoru shook her head in annoyance. "Are we friends?"

Mara nodded.

"Then rest, be quiet, and drink that tea." Kaoru stood up and walked over to where Mara was sitting, wrapped in a shawl and a clean yukata. "From now on you'll be staying here with us." 

Mara looked at her, eyes wide. "You don't mind....at least until I can find a job?" She knew that after tonight, going back to the hovel was impossible.

"You are welcome here for as long as you like, with or without employment." Kenshin smiled "Though I think Dr. Genzai will be very disappointed if you refuse his offer to work with him at the clinic."

"He wants me to stay?" Mara grinned. "Then I'll be able to help pay for rent and food! I promise that I won't be a bother. Thank..."

"Doctor. Drink the rest of your tea before my dear wife loses her patience. We have plenty of time to talk about this another day." Kenshin's tone while kind, brooked no room for argument.

Mara nodded and started sipping.

______________________________________________________________________________

_COMING UP IN THE NEXT CHAPTER......._

_(Wake up....)_ Mara shut her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the voice in the back of her mind. _(Wake up....someone's here.....)_ She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head, blocking out the midday light that was filtering into her bedroom. She was tired, bone weary...still hours away from getting enough sleep to think coherently. _(Quit being paranoid....It's just the Himura's coming back from the market)_ Mara rolled to her side, bringing her long legs up against her chest in an effort to stay warm and secure. Closing her eyes she willed sleep to return, to transport her away from the reality that she had somehow managed to exist in for over two months, for the welcome familiarity of dreams to give her the illusion that she was back home, safe and secure. _(WAKE UP NOW !) _Dark grey eyes snapped open at the sound of worn hinges creaking, announcing the arrival of someone to the courtyard.........(Any guesses on who our mystery guest just might be????) 

______________________________________________________________________________

Moonwind - Thanks for the review. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.

Marstankuni - I appreciate the review. Thanks for reading my story.

Nemo - I'm glad you enjoyed the individual characterizations. (I was kind of worried about Kenshin being a little too grim....Whew!)

V-Babe - I'm tickled you liked the story. (Thank you so much for taking the time to read it!)

Imbrium Iridium - (Holy Smokers! What a great review!) Thanks for the tribal dance! **Clogs happily in response and promises a review on you next chapter**

Mad Melma - (Cool name!) The internal dialog is the best part of a character! Glad you liked it.

Firhuze Khanune - **Bows to a master** Okay, as far as your questions regarding Tomoe...Let's just say that she is a metaphysical "mover and shaker" in this story (as are two other dearly departed characters who will be eventually making an appearance). She chose Mara to go back to 1886 for several reasons, the least being that the woman is a top notch doctor and uniquely qualified to help Kenshin deal with the difficult issues of redemption and guilt. (Stay tuned for more info....) **cackles evilly**

Starlight - I'm glad you like what I did with the typhoid. Per your request, here is an update!

  


THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!!! 


	3. First Impressions

I would like to thank all the reviewers for their comments, my husband for his support (and the rather brilliant suggestion that I actually try my hand at a wee bit of humor) and my sister for reminding me that I haven't posted for a week and a half. 

This chapter takes place in late Autumn, approx. five months after the end of the chapter two. (Individual responses to my reviewers are at the end!)

  


***Heads up folks, there's some rough language ahead!***

  


As Time Goes By

Chapter Three

First Impressions

  


It was a perfect day for flying. Warm thermal currents rose from the Japanese mainland, then drifted slowly towards the dark, blue green of the Pacific, creating a perfect air scape for aerial acrobatics. One bird in particular was enjoying the tumultuous air currents as its sharp black eyes roved over the endless expanse of sea, searching for an easy meal. The gull wheeled sharply, then began to circle downward, detecting on the warm Autumnal breeze the faint tang of something burning....a scent that the mercenary avian associated with food. There were other scents in the air that the bird could not identify...the lung numbing odor of lead based paint peeling off white hot iron, the acrid tang of low grade coal being greedily consumed. There was one smell in particular that interested the air borne scavenger. It was oily and unmistakably organic...a macabre scent that carried up the heavens the heartbreaking screams of men and women as they fell victim to the mindless killer that was devouring a gutted out excuse for a stream ship. 

With a cautionary squawk, the gull veered down, gliding effortlessly above the surging tide of people that were trying to escape the inferno, its only objective finding a meal within the fire tinged madness. With nary a thought, the bird swooped past the coal soaked flames, dodging the billowing pillars of stream that were erupting from a punctured boiler with effortless ease. A predatory glance proved promising. The unburned docks were littered with half burned bodies, the blood slicked sea teeming with wretched human flotsam. Yes, there was food to be had here. Cautiously, the gull landed next to a blanket covered form, intent on sampling the charred remains of a human hand. 

"Back off, you buzzard !" Dr. Mara Mogensen snarled as she chucked an empty

iodine bottle at the screeching bird, her grey eyes snapping with fury. _(Not unless you're keen on impersonating a bucket of chicken!)_ The slender woman seethed as she watched the offending gull beat a quick retreat across the smoky harbor, silently wishing that she could follow it away from the nightmarish scene. 

Her face was grim as she pressed her sooty fingers against a woman's blistered throat and found that the combined forces of shock and third degree burns had stolen another life away, leaving the doctor feeling bereft and useless. Mara gently brushed her hand across the unseeing eyes, then wearily stood and stretched her aching back. _(That makes forty -nine.)_

"Look!" Someone shouted in a horrified voice. She turned towards the burning ship and swore furiously as more frantic screams rang out across the debris filled water, her eyes widening with horror as four soot covered passengers materialized out from the billowing smoke, struggling towards the unburned bow of the ship before the crackling flames engulfed them. The helpless crowd sent up a collective groan as one of the passengers, a slightly built woman, stumbled and fell lifelessly against the oil covered deck, then cheered when one of the male passengers staggered back and picked her up, somehow managing to endure the radiant heat that was causing the metal railings around him to warp and twist.

Mara locked her gaze on the tall male passenger, praying the he would find the strength to save himself and the unconscious woman in his arms._(Just hold on....)_ She was halfway done kicking off her heavy boots when an earthshattering explosion rocketed up from the bowels of the doomed steamer, followed by a shockwave that brutally slammed through the panic filled crowd. Mara shielded her eyes and desperately scanned the churning water, hoping beyond hope that at least one of the passengers had survived the blast, knowing that the chances of such a miracle were non-existent. 

  


_(This is really going to hurt....) _It was the second to the last thought that raced through Sagara Sanosuke's mind as a red, writhing fireball blossomed up from where the engine compartment had once been. He threw his arms around the old woman and tried to shield her tiny body with his own. A hoarse shout escaped his lips as a suffocating curtain of fire enveloped them both, igniting the edges of his tattered cloak and singeing the hair on his arms and head. _(Yup...this is hurting all right.....)_ With surreal calmness, he cradled the tiny grandmother against his powerful chest, whispering a heart felt apology that he had been unable to spare her from such an end, then collapsed down on the burning deck and closed his eyes. 

A microsecond later, the resultant shockwave force tore into Sano, sending him tumbling head over heels over the bow of the ship and down towards the merciless sea. He clutched desperately at the shrieking woman, then cursed when she was ripped from his protective embrace and plummeted helplessly into the hard water. Instinctively, Sanosuke covered his head with his arms and went limp, the action sparing his neck from being broken as he plunged down into the debris filled harbor. The impact brutally knocked the wind from his lungs and for an instant he considered allowing his pain racked body to simply sink, then reconsidered and with a feral snarl, forced his cramping legs to tread water while he struggled to focus his bleary vision and get his bearings before some damn shark took a bite out of his ass and really managed to piss him off. 

"Hold on!" 

The man tried to turn towards the voice, his dazed mind dimly registering that it came from a woman. His attention was diverted however when he felt something brush up against his arm. _(Awww shit!.....With my luck it'll be a tiger shark that hasn't eaten in weeks....)_ With a surprisingly strong yell, the soot soaked man twisted in the water, his fists ready to seriously pummel some fish flesh. 

"Sweet merciful sake!" Sano shouted happily when he realized that the "thing" that had brushed up against him was in reality a "her". Closing his eyes for a moment, he mentally thanked the Gods (and gave himself a small congratulatory pat on the back) that the tiny, wisp of a woman had also survived the inferno. "You the damn toughest old bird I've ever laid eyes on !" He grinned as he reached out and pulled the water drenched elderly woman towards him.

This was a mistake.

A very wise man once said that aside from starting a land war in Asia, the most dangerous thing a person could do was to engage a Sicilian in a battle of wits....especially when death was on the line. What this wise (and now dead) person forgot to add was that there was one thing even more dangerous, that insulting a woman about her age (no matter how sweet she might appear and how relieved you are that she wasn't blown up into tiger shark chow) is a very, very bad idea. 

"Whap!" With the speed born of an insulted ego, the old woman brought a half charred fan up out of the water and smacked Sanosuke right on the bride of his nose.

"Ow!" The injured man yelped. "Dammit, that hurt you old bat!"

"Whap! Whap! Whap!" He dodged the last two blows, shocked right out of his water logged mind as to the reason why the delicate little grandmother that he'd tried to save from death was currently pummeling him on the head with a smoldering flower shaped fan. _(Women....Sheesh!) _

"Why you rascally whippersnapper!" The elderly woman warbled as she struggled to keep her head above the icy waves.....and give the arrogant young whelp a right proper beating. "I've half a mind to twist your ear for that disparaging comment." "Whap! Whap! Whap!"

The last whap pushed him over the edge. "Knock it off, you wrinkled wildcat !" Sano growled as he threw his arm around the now nearly incensed woman's chest and began towing her towards the wharf. "Tell ya what Grandma, if we make it to land before my legs give out, you can twist both of my ears til the damn things fall off." He hissed as a ferocious cramp tore through his left leg, causing both of them to briefly bob beneath the bitterly cold water. "Until then, will you do me a favor and keep your big yap shut?"

"Pervert! Fiend! Masher!" She screeched as she thrashed wildly against the tall man's iron grip, crowing with delight when he cried out in pain, shouted something about having the mother of all leg cramps....then promptly began to sink like a lead life preserver. "That'll teach you to insult your elders!"

_(What a way to go.....) _Sano thought as he began to drift helplessly downward. In all honestly, he had always imagined that when the Gods called him home, they would do so in a spectacular fashion complete with flames, explosions and manly sword clanging, his death lament being performed by at least eight or nine heartbroken, incredibly hot women. This was certainly not along those lines. _(Here lies Sagara Sanosuke, age 26 . He was smacked on his head by a mal tempered old bitty and drowned. The End.) _ The epitaph alone was enough to inspire his cramped up legs, and with a mighty cry...he promptly inhaled a mouth full of water. _(Look at it this way.....) _He thought as he once again began sinking downward. _(At least I won't have to put up with her bitching.....) _His mortal musings however, were suddenly interrupted when a thin white hand grabbed him by the top of his head and yanked....hard.

"OW!" He sputtered as his much maligned head broke the surface. "Way to be gentle!"

"Quit being a pansy ass and start swimming!" Sano's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he realized that his rescuer was a pale foreign woman with eyes the shade of Himalayan granite. _(Hello!) _What also caught his attention and considerably improved what had been a rather shitty day, was the fact that she was actually kinda pretty (in a severe, no nonsense kind of way) and that from the waist down, in a state of glorious undress, her thin pantaloons doing little to hide a pair of legs that were downright delightful. 

_(How utterly typical.....)_ Mara's eyes narrowed to venomous slits. _(I try and help out and look what happens....I get saddled with a geriatric xenophobe and some jerk who'd rather stare at my ass than get back to shore in one piece.....) _"Hey! Knock it off!" She snarled as the old woman tried to whack her for the fifth time.

"Foreign devil!" The crone howled, then turned to the dark haired man and gave him a impressive blow to the side of his head. "Impudent pup!"

"What in the hell is your problem?" Mara bellowed as she wrenched the battered flower fan away from her pint sized attacker and chucked the damn thing into the harbor. "Pull that again lady, and I'll let the sharks have you! Do I make myself clear?"

The subdued woman meekly nodded. 

"And you..." Mara snapped at the dark haired man, her grey eyes crackling. "Less ogling and more swimming!"

Sano rewarded her with a sassy leer. "Can't I do both?"

"Not if you want to keep your teeth!" Mara grated as he caught hold of a barnacle covered pier. _(Good holy hell! The man got blown thirty feet in the air, set on fire and is now trying to hit on me!....)_ She wasn't sure whether to be impressed or check the oversexed idiot for signs of serious head injury. _(I'd bet on the latter...)_ Mara tried to pull herself and the muttering malcontent she was carrying up out of the sea, then swore when she lost her grip on the slippery wood and fell back into the harbor, simultaneously earning a nasty gash on her elbow, a scathing rebuke from the white haired woman and the joyous experience of being guffawed at by a certain brown eyed lecher. _(The next time a boat sinks....I'm staying home....)_

"You know what your problem is ?" Sanosuke drawled as he pulled both dripping women up out of the water. 

Mara quirked an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."

"You think that you have to do everything by yourself." With a mighty heave, Sano sent the elderly lady flying up onto the dock, grinning happily when he heard her land right on what he hoped was her bony little ass. _(That's what you get for calling me a whippersnapper!)_

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" Mara shouted as she tried to scratch her way up the pier, her morbid little brain imagining all sorts of injuries that the dunderhead's little stunt had inflicted on the seventy year old . "You might have given her a fractured pelvis, or a concussion, or...."

"Spawn of a motherless demon!"

Sanosuke blanched when the little old lady poked her head over the edge of the wharf, her beady little eyes blazing with revenge. _(Oh, Shit....)_ In reality, the tool of her vengeance ended up being two day old bait....nice, rancid, smelly fish parts that his tiny nemesis poured out of a wooden bucket and right onto his upturned face. He cursed and frantically tried to wipe the offending muck out of his eyes, losing his grip on the pier in the process and sending himself and that cackling foreigner right back into the water. _(The next time a boat sinks.....I'm letting myself drown and save these two the trouble....)_

Mara coughed up a lung full of water, the threw her head back and howled with delight when the furious man's head broke the surface, his wild brown locks still littered with fish scales and who knows what else. _(Karma's a bitch, aint she?) _

"I'm gonna kill her!" Sano vowed as he pulled himself and the still giggling younger woman up the pier and onto the wharf. "That old crow won't know what hit her!" His voice was no more than a vengeful rumble in his chest as he strode towards the defiant little snip.

"Back for some more?" The old woman crowed, clenching her age spotted hands into tiny fists. 

"Bring it on Grandma!" Sanosuke roared, forgetting in his righteous indignation that he was a foot and a half taller and outweighed his adversary by oh....at least eighty or ninety pounds. 

"THAT'S ENOUGH !"

Both combatants paused mid swing. 

"You want to duke it out? Fine! Go off somewhere and have at it." Mara angrily brushed her dripping hair out of her face and glared at the two mismatched opponents. "But before you do, I suggest that you look around and see just how lucky both of you morons are to even be alive." She struggled to her feet and clutched her bleeding arm. "It's a damn shame that whatever Gods you fools worship chose to spare your sorry asses and take so many others instead." 

"Blasphemer!" 

Mara's lips curled in derision at the older woman. "Go to hell."

"Hey!" Sanosuke called out. "C'mon lady, I wasn't really..." He stopped when the pale woman turned and regarded him with a look that bespoke bitter disappointment and almost palpable contempt....then silently slipped away into the gathering crowd. 

  


Early the Next Morning

  


"Are you sure you feel well enough to leave?" 

Sanosuke glanced up at young medical assistant, seeing disapproval in the man's weary black eyes. "I'm positive." Cursing softly, he draped his still damp cloak over his shoulders, then hissed in pain as the blackened, coarse wool rubbed against the burns that wrapped around his neck like a crimson band.

"Listen pal, I appreciate your concern and all, but I'll be fine. Believe me, this is nothing." Technically, the statement bordered on being a downright whopper of a lie. He hurt...from the tips of his bandaged feet to the frizzled ends of his singed hair. _(Note to self: In the future, please try and avoid being blown up.....Thank You.....That is all.) _

"At least let me send for a carriage." The younger man begged, knowing full well that his reluctant patient was in no condition to go anywhere. "Just tell me where your belongings are and I'll fetch them for you."

Sano's mouth twisted up sarcastically. "That's probably not a good idea." He jerked his head back in the direction of the half burned harbor. "Unless you're keen on going for a little swim." He'd lost everything he owned when the steamer sank. Normally, this wouldn't have bothered Sanosuke in the slightest. He was and had always been a man who traveled lightly, eschewing the lure of material wealth, preferring instead the more insubstantial things that truly made life enjoyable. _(Still...It's been six....almost seven years....I wanted to show them where I've been....How much I missed them....)_

"I'm sorry." The smaller man muttered in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to ...."

"Don't worry about it." Sano's smile this time was genuine. _(He might be a little slow on the uptake, but his heart's in the right place....)_ "It's not like I really had anything of value." With a resigned snort, he carefully stood up, praying that his unsteady legs would support him. _(Just the money I've been saving up since I hightailed it outta here ....and the gifts I found for my friends.....) _His expression was unusually downcast as he went recalled the small treasures that he'd carefully lugged across four continents, two oceans, and over one white capped sea, only to have them consumed in a freak fire less than a nautical mile away from home. 

Sanosuke had been as drunk as a skunk when he'd swiped a deck of face cards for Yahiko in San Francisco, and sicker than a dog with malaria when a tender hearted pharmacist in New Orleans had given him a bottle of a miracle drug called "Aspirin". The ex-gangster had carefully saved most of the medicine for Dr. Genzai to study, knowing that the physician would be interested in the western pain killer. For his little miss, he had managed to trade four weeks worth of manual labor for a blue glass vial filled with sweet french perfume. _(She would have loved it....the bottle was the same color as her eyes...)_

Then there were the surprises for the children._(They better have kids by now....)_ The black forest in Germany had been a wonderland of wooden clocks and hand carved toys that had proved irresistible. Sanosuke smiled as he remembered the small brightly painted soldier that he'd chosen just in case they had a boy, as well as a tiny carved treasure box in the event that there was a girl as well. He'd splurged in Bombay and purchased Suzume and Ayame matching ivory combs that resembled lotus blossoms. 

Sano had struggled to find something special for Kenshin, a memento that was appropriate for such a remarkable man. In the end, the gift had found him high in the mountains of Tibet. It was a bleached linen scarf that some old monks had given to Sanosuke specifically for his friend. _(They prayed for you....that you would find peace and happiness....)_ He sighed, remembering the rich incense of the temples and the awe inspiring mountains that seemed to hold the sky up with their jagged peaks. The loss of the scarf was especially painful, since it seemed to portend that perhaps his best friend had not fared well over the past six years. __

_ (Dammit....I hope he's okay....I hope they all are.....)_ Sano's frown deepened as he shakily made his way to the hospital entrance, then leaned his weary head against the door frame, closing his eyes as painfully raw memories began to seep up from the darkest corners of his heart. _(Especially her....)_ Even now, after six years and who knows how many miles, he still missed Megumi....still wished that things had gone differently in the weeks that preceded his abrupt flight from Tokyo. She was the greatest regret of his life, a living reminder of his stupidity and selfishness, and the reason that he'd decided to come back to Japan. His chances for obtaining her forgiveness were non-existent, her once treasured friendship a tattered memory that no amount of pleading could ever mend. 

Still, he was determined to let her know how deeply he regretted what had happened, how hard he had tried to become a better man, and how desperately he still loved her....even if that love would never be returned. _(And why should it be?) _He'd left Japan with nothing and thanks to the fire, was returning with nothing but a well patched, worn out excuse for a jacket, a pair of tattered pants, and six years of worth of experiences. _(She'd laugh at me and tell me that I'm still nothing more than a stupid ex-gangster with no manners .....)_ Sano swore softly as he recalled the similar look of disgust he'd seen reflected in the grey eyes of a pale foreign woman, her unspoken rebuke more painful than a slap across the face. _(The sad part is that she just might be right....) _With that happy thought in mind, Sanosuke bid goodbye to the anxious medical student and slowly walked out into the fog drenched streets, anxious to make his way to the Kayima Dojo in time for lunch. 

Meanwhile, Over at the Aforementioned Dojo

  


"Kenji! Stop.....please hold still!" Kenshin muttered as his son tried to squirm out of his grip for the fourth time. "You can't go to the market with Mommy and me unless you are wearing your sandals!" Kenji ignored his father, somehow managing to break away and run down the hall, delighted that yet another escape attempt had succeeded. _(What I wouldn't give for a nice, simple sword fight with all the Shishin Gumi Divisions right now.....anything but dealing with a five year old!) _Kenshin's eyes flared amber for a brief second before he sighed, and patiently walked in the direction of his son's high pitched laughter. _(Why is this so difficult ?.... I never had a problem with Dr. Genzai's granddaughters...) _ They were already running late, Yahiko was probably waiting for them at the market, and Kenji's obsession with not wanting to wear any form of footwear wasn't helping matters. _(We'll be lucky if there is any fresh tofu by the time we get there!)_

Twenty minutes later, the Himura family finally made it out of the house and into the courtyard. Kenshin was frazzled, still wondering how his wife managed to take care of their child while he was away, Kenji was sniffling, and Kaoru, having had many such shopping adventures with her son, was oblivious to everything but the thought that she was finally able to leave the house and get some fresh air before she killed someone. 

"Is Mara coming with us?" Kenji chirped as he bounced up and down. "She said she was gonna!" The boy craned his neck in the direction of the dojo. "MARA!!!!" Kenshin's eyes widened as the shrill sound lanced through his already much abused eardrums. Kenji repeated the call, somehow managing to intensify the pitch and volume, causing the fine hairs at the base of his fathers neck to stand straight up. _(Who needs to learn sword skills when you can immobilize your enemies with a scream......)_

_ "_Kenji." Kaoru gave her son "THE LOOK" . Kenji shut up. 

"Promise me that you will teach me to do that." Her husband implored. 

"It's a mom thing, you don't stand a chance." Kaoru turned to greet the newest addition to the Himura household, then gasped and ran towards the gaunt physician, her blue eyes dilating with worry. 

"Are you all right?" Kaoru's asked as she embraced her friend, then pushed her towards the bath house, noting with concern that Mara was dangerously pale, her normally alabaster skin taking on a sickly grey cast. Kaoru's eyes hardened protectively when her gaze traveled to the dark green gray circles that marred the tender flesh under Mara's red rimmed eyes....the bloodstains on her linen blouse and thin wool skirt.....the lingering scent of smoke mingling with the tang of disinfectant that tainted her curly, braided hair. 

_(No...not remotely....)_ Donning a bright, and utterly false smile Mara nodded as she knelt down and scooped Kenji up in her long arms. "I'm sorry I didn't make it home last night." She closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the happy sound of the boy's laughter and tried to block out the graphic mental images of childish bodies savaged by fire and smoke, their little faces forever frozen into grimaces of pain and fear. _(Just breathe.....keep it together just a little while longer....the last thing they need is me breaking down in front of them.....) _"There was a bit of trouble down at the harbor."

Kenshin watched the exchange silently, his placid expression belying the deep feelings of concern that he felt. _(A bit of trouble she says....somehow, I seriously doubt that....)_ Closing his eyes, Kenshin reached out with his mind, allowing insubstantial tendrils of thought to brush up against Mara's chi...and found within that energy no easy answers to his unspoken question. _(AUGHH!) _It nearly undid him....that first hesitant caress against her life force....the unnatural strength and ferocity of her unfiltered emotions threatening to overwhelm....to destroy. _(How is this possible?) _His eyes snapped open and with a silent scream, he took step away from the woman, his head and heart aching with her remembered agony even as his own primal defenses leapt into action, filling his bloodstream with endorphins, his battle hardened body tensing in violent anticipation against the unexpected mental assault. Kenshin groaned as he pressed his hand against his pounding forehead, amazed that such a slender woman was capable of generating such a fierce battle aura, frightened at the unspoken implications of such a discovery. _(Have I mistaken her character?......Misjudged her intentions towards my family?) _ Without waiting for an explanation, he quickly walked over and snatched his son from Mara, then positioned himself between the tall woman and his protesting wife. 

_(What on earth is Kenshin doing ?)_ Kaoru pulled at her husband's sleeve, desperate to understand his abrupt behavior. _(If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was trying to protect Kenji and me....)_ She looked over at her pale faced friend and found her confusion mirrored in the woman's grey eyes. _(He should know better than that....Mara would never do anything to put us at risk....) _Over the past five months, Kaoru had come to rely upon the wiry doctor as both a dear friend and trusted confidant. Sure, the woman was about as warm and fuzzy as a rabid porcupine and as social as a bucket of moldy tofu. And yes, Mara did have the propensity for swearing like a card shark, wearing pants and thumbing her pert nose at every imaginable social convention. _(She's also fiercely loyal, surprisingly tender hearted and one of the most compassionate people I've had ever met.) _Kaoru pursed her lips and regarded her husband carefully. _(Surely he doesn't still have those silly reservations about her staying with us....) _

"Kenshin? Are you all right?" Mara asked cautiously, her clinical gaze raking over the smaller man's features. _(If I didn't know better, I'd swear that he was in pain....) _She took a hesitant step forward, then froze when her actions caused Kenshin to slightly bare his teeth and reach for the sword that no longer hung at his side. _(Oh Shit...)_ Mara took a steadying breath and slowly raised her hands, pitching her voice until it was as low and soothing as possible. _(Just what I didn't need to deal with today...)_

"I've upset you." She took a tentative step away from the shorter man, praying that he wouldn't revert back to the amber eyed facet of his personality. "I apologize." 

"I want you to tell me exactly what happened ..." Kenshin whispered hoarsely as he struggled to regain control. "Please...it's very important."

"A steamer from Shanghai caught fire less than a mile from shore." Mara shuddered as she recalled the terrific explosion that nearly ruptured her eardrums and sent body parts flying for several hundred feet.

"How many people died ?" Kenshin's voice was a mere whisper. __

"Eighty six." Mara's face crumpled. "Fifteen of them were children." She took another step back, fighting against the urge to break down and sob. "There was nothing I could do to save them, their burns were too severe...."

Kaoru closed her eyes , remembering the terrible feelings of loss that she'd endured when Typhoid had destroyed her unborn daughter and nearly driven her insane with grief. _(No wonder Kenshin reacted so strongly....) _

"I'm the one who should ask your forgiveness." Kenshin put Kenji down and watched as his son ran over to Kaoru, obviously unnerved by his father's strange behavior. "I'm afraid that I misinterpreted your emotions and reacted without thinking."

"Don't worry about it....I should have been more up front with you." Mara sighed, thankful that a possible row had been avoided. "It's just that my training kicks in when all hell breaks loose."

"So does mine." Kenshin managed a weak smile of his own. 

"All right...that's enough of that." Kaoru huffed, her eyes suspiciously bright. "By the time you two idiots are finished apologizing there won't be a single piece of tofu left in Tokyo." She gave Kenshin a quick peck on the cheek, ruffled Kenji's unruly mass of hair, then grabbed Mara and pushed her towards the bath house. 

"I want you to take a bath and get some sleep."

"But I promised Kenji...." Mara grumbled as she tripped going up a step.

"Kenji understands that you haven't had any sleep for nearly two days and need to take a nap." Kaoru looked at her son. "Don't you dear?" The boy nodded, even though his expression was crestfallen. Mara bit her lip in remorse as the five year old valiantly tried not to whimper.

"Kenji, tell you what....you and I will go on an "adventure" later today." Mara looked up at Kenshin and was amused at the already hammered look on the man's face. "Somehow I suspect your mom and dad will be the one's needing a nap by the time this day's over. How does that sound?" 

Kenji clapped his hands and laughed. "Will I get a surprise?" He knew that the tall woman was notoriously easy to wheedle treats out of.

"Only if you are a good boy and mind your parents."_(Ah....Bribery, the time tested, sure fire way to get a kid to behave!)_

"I promise!" Kenji was bouncing again. 

"Will you be all right ?" Kenshin asked quietly.

"I'll be fine." _(Until I fall asleep and get to relive everything all over again....)_ She smiled wearily at the couple and their son."I just need to crash for a few hours. Now, quit worrying about me and go have some fun together!" Mara turned on her heel staggered off into the bath house before any one else could say a word. 

  


(Somewhere in Tokyo....Hopefully)

  


Sometimes life wasn't fair. This was one of those times. With a long suffering sigh that barely hid the grumbling sounds of a still empty stomach, Sano looked up and down the unfamiliar street. _(Dammit !....At this rate, I'm going to miss lunch!) _So far, his entire morning had consisted of wandering around Tokyo like a damned tourist, being hit on by a toothless hooker, and nearly being tossed in the clinker on suspicion of being a vagrant. _(At least I'd get something to eat in jail....)_

Hopelessly lost and ravenously hungry, Sano fought against the urge to gnaw at the bark of the maple tree he was leaning against, and tried (for the eighteenth time in ten minutes) to remember exactly where Kaoru's place was. _(Let's see.....it's five blocks away from the Akabedo, seven from the police station, twelve from the pleasure district....) _He snorted in disgust and looked around the bustling street, hoping perhaps to see a familiar face....a woman with eyes that put the sky to shame, a small redheaded man that he loved like a brother, a scrawny little boy with a wooden bokken...._(No, Yahiko's a young man now....)_ The thought made him feel old.

Six years....while not quite a decade, in many ways had been longer than three lifetimes and five times more fun. During his travels, Sanosuke had fallen in love with the music of Beethoven, eagerly devoured the works of Jules Verne, gained an appreciation for the scandalous poetry of Walt Whitman and found to his immense surprise that he could knit like a domestic god and cook a mean pot of chicken and dumplings. In France he had become addicted to eclairs and tried his hand at painting in the style of the emerging impressionists. In Italy his preference for double espressos had resulted in many sleepless nights, his admiration for Michelangelo's genius had left him in tears. There were the fencing lessons with a one armed Scotsman, the dancing lessons with a tempestuous ex-nun. In Arabia he'd learned to cook couscous , and on the banks of the mighty Mississippi an embittered confederate soldier had taught him the delights of gin rummy, black jack and the art of wearing a "perfect poker face". 

_(And now I'm back in Japan....)_ Sanosuke pushed away from the maple tree and sauntered down the twilight colored boulevard, cursing softly as the rough hewn stones bit into the tender flesh of his burned feet. _(Half starved, bone weary and lost to boot!) _ His mouth quirked into what might have been a regretful smile as he turned the corner, missing Kenshin, Kaoru and their bouncing bundle of energy by a mere twenty seconds as they departed in the opposite direction towards the market and the delights that such a place offered.

Twenty Minutes Later 

_ (It's so beautiful....so clean and pure....) _He made this pilgrimage twice a month, solemnly engaging in a time honored ritual that left his troubled spirit free from worry and doubt. Yes, here in this makeshift shrine, Kenshin basked in the knowledge that he was truly at peace and one with the universe, that within these four walls he was no longer an ex-assassin searching for redemption, but a humble devotee worshiping at the altar of domestic nirvana. With barely contained anticipation, he stretched forth his hand towards the display, eager to partake of the thrice milled, double processed and lightly scented soap flakes . _(What the hell ?.....)_ Kenshin jerked his hand back as though some unhallowed thing had suddenly desecrated this holiest of sites and glared up at the already cowering proprietor, his violet gaze flickering with the faintest hint of amber fire.

"You changed brands." It was a statement more than a question. 

_(Dang it! I KNEW this was going to happen....)_ The store owner bowed apologetically, wondering if perhaps his uneventful mortal life was drawing to a close. _(I warned my wife that if messed with the Battousai's laundry, the Battousai would mess with us....But NO.....She insisted_

_ that we try and new and improved western version..... ) _

"Himura, please understand.....there was really nothing I could do. Nowadays, people demand goods from the west. We have to stock them in order to keep our business up and running." 

Kenshin folded his arms tightly against his chest, still reeling from this most unexpected of betrayals. "Is that so?"

"Now, why don't you give this brand a chance?" The sweat dropping grocery man cajoled, his nimble little mind scrambling to come up with a sure fire way of keeping a loyal customer happy....and his head securely attached to his scrawny shoulders. "It's supposed to make your clothing snuggly soft!" 

The former manslayer was unmoved. " I prefer the other brand."

More sweat dropping commenced. "Perhaps a free sample might allay your concerns ?" 

(Free samples naturally, are entirely another story....especially when you're on a tight budget and have a five year old who had in the last three and a half minutes managed to knock down four canned displays and shred two pounds of cabbage without any sign of remorse.) With a gravely injured air, Kenshin slowly nodded and accepted a brightly packaged box of western style laundry soap, his sour expression mirroring the deep qualms that tore through his loyal little heart. _(Why can't things just stay the way they were....)_ He was so wrapped up sudsy angst that he barely registered the frantic shouts of his beloved wife as she tried to pull their darling child down from a shelf before he managed to give the assistant grocer a fatal heart attack and permanently damage the Himura family name. 

"Kenji!" Kaoru hissed as she jumped up and snagged her wayward son by his ankle. "You get down here this instant or so help me...." 

"I don't wanna!" The five year old shouted shrilly, reaching out towards a bright package that had caught his attention. 

"Smooth one Kaoru." Yahiko snorted as he dodged an avalanche of soba noodles. "Congratulations! You spawned a demon." With the patience of a seasoned war veteran, the seventeen year old caught all eight packages, tossed them back up to the correct shelf, then grabbed the pint sized offender and snugly tucked him under his arm without breaking a sweat. 

"Lemme go!" Kenji shrieked, his blue-violet eyes bulging. 

"You shut up and I'll let you go." Yahiko's voice was sterner than steel. "But if you so much as squeak, I'll tell Mara that you were disobedient." The young man smiled wickedly. _(That lady's my ace in the whole when it comes to keeping this kid in line....)_ "And we all knows how Mara feels about disobedient little brats.....don't we." 

Kenji sighed in defeat and went limp. "I promise." (There were times that admitting you were wrong were perfectly acceptable. This was one of those times.) "I'm sorry I was naughty." 

"What would I do without you." Kaoru sighed wearily.

"Go stark raving mad?" Yahiko offered snidely as he set the subdued child back down. "Honestly, that kid of yours could drive a monk to drown himself in sake." 

"He's not just MY kid!" Kaoru growled as she began picking up several packages that she'd dropped. She winced slightly as she bent over, her still healing body protesting the action. _(Unfortunately, his father is too busy playing with the laundry detergent to notice that I need some help!) _ "Dammit, Yahiko, I'm doing the best I can." Her whispered protest caused a swift pang of remorse to surge through Yahiko, reminding him sharply that the diminutive woman standing beside him was still recovering from a loss that no mother should be forced to endure, as well as the unspoken worry that her husband would soon be contacted regarding another damn assignment that would take him away from his family and force Yahiko to assume a role that he knew he had no hope of even succeeding at. _(I can't even remember my own father.....How in the name of hell am I supposed to try and help take care of this looney kid?) _ His expression softened slightly as the aforementioned loon walked over to his mother and gently hugged her leg as he quietly apologized for causing her to become upset. _(It's not his fault.....He's just trying to understand why his dad would rather waste his time working for a corrupt government rather than spending time with his family....)_Yahiko's mouth tightened into a thin, hard line as he recalled the events of the last few months, struggling to contain the festering anger and bitter sense of outrage that the painful memories created within him. _(We all are.....)_

  


Back at the Dojo__

  


_(Wake up....)_ Mara shut her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the voice in the back of her mind. _(Wake up....someone's here.....)_ She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head, blocking out the midday light that was filtering into her bedroom. She was tired, bone weary...still hours away from getting enough sleep to think coherently. _(Quit being paranoid....It's just the Himura's coming back from the market....)_ Mara rolled to her side, bringing her long legs up against her chest in an effort to stay warm and secure. Closing her eyes she willed sleep to return, to transport her away from the reality that she had somehow managed to exist in for over five months, for the welcome familiarity of dreams to give her the illusion that she was back home, safe and secure. _(WAKE UP NOW !)_

Dark grey eyes snapped open at the sound of worn hinges creaking, announcing the arrival of someone to the courtyard. Mara held perfectly still, senses hyper alert as she waited for the welcome sounds of a five year old or the quiet conversations that his parent's favored, sounds that would allow to her body to relax, her mind to settle.....the memories of unwanted hands on her body to diminish, the horrific smells of charred flesh to disappear._(It's too quiet!) _ While guests were not unheard of at the home, experience had made Mara very wary. She silently rose from her bed, trying not to yelp as her bare feet touched the cold floor, and crept to the outside entrance of the dojo to see who had opened the front gate.

_(What in blue blazes is HE doing here?!?) _Mara clamped her hand over her mouth. It was him....the tall passenger that she'd helped pull out of the harbor. _(Did he follow me?) _She frowned and considered the possibility, then quickly rejected it. _(No....I always take a different route home just in case) _ Mara watched him carefully as he looked around the empty courtyard and then walked into the house, gasping when his tattered cloak shifted, revealing the kanji for "wicked" on his back. _(This is not good...not good at all!)_. She knew that the chances of this man being a friend were now pretty nonexistent. Her friends just didn't entertain the "wicked" type.

_(Ahhh, crap! They go off to the market and look what happens....we get robbed! How utterly typical!) _There was no sound for a few minutes then the man came back out of the house, scowling dangerously. Mara jumped as he started towards the dojo, and quickly ran into the main part of the building, scanning for anything to use as a weapon, anywhere that could be a good hiding place. Mara knew that her only hope was to try and hide until the man left with whatever he managed to salvage from her room. She flattened herself against the corner in the darkest end of the dojo and forced herself to wait. _(Please, oh please just go away!)_

Sanosuke quietly entered the dark building, tensing for a second before crossing the threshold of the dojo. He seemed aware that he wasn't alone, and stood still for a second, allowing his eyesight to adjust to the low light level. He carefully peered into the unlit dojo, his eyes finally coming to rest on the shadowy form of a figure in the corner. _(Now why would Kaoru be out here alone?) _ He smiled and started forward, then stopped again....his brown eyes widening with confusion. _(What in the name of the Greater Gods is SHE doing in here?)_

Mara fought the urge to scream as she saw the man coming towards her. She looked around for anything to protect herself with since the wooden swords that Yahiko trained with were too far away _(Yeah, like I have a clue in Christmas how to use the damn things anyway.....My best chance is to run for it and hope that someone sees or hears me before he can catch up.) _Pressing her body up against the corner, she waited for the best opening to make a break for it.

Sano stopped and gaped at the tall woman, wondering idly if she was some hunger induced illusion that his food deprived brain had cooked up. _(Not that I'm complaining or anything.....) _As far as hallucinations went, this one wasn't half bad. Her hair was down for one thing, the black curly locks falling past her shoulders in a riotous mass that pleasantly reminded him that she was indeed a stranger to this country, her unusual height and pale color only adding to the favorable impression. _(Not bad at all....)_ To top it off, this particular figment of his imagination was clad in nothing more than a threadbare yukata that did little to hide the curvy body beneath it. _(I should try fasting more often....)_

"You have ten seconds to get the hell outta here or I'm calling the cops!" Mara put her hands on her hips and shot him a look that could have frozen the left side of Mount Fuji. "You heard me pal, move it!"

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Sanosuke growled. "You're the one who shouldn't be here lady!"

"I happen to live here, you moron." Mara's hands clenched into fists.

"The hell you do!" Sano snapped angrily. _(This isn't fair! First I get blown up, then I get lost, and now this......woman.....is reading me the riot act....in her bathrobe!) _He rolled his eyes and took another step forward. "Look lady, why don't you do yourself a big favor and tell me where Kenshin and Kaoru went."

"Over my dead body." Mara hissed, her eyes darkening with fury. "Listen up asshole, cause I'm only going to say this once. I don't care which one of your relatives Kenshin carved up during the Bakamatsu. He was a teenager and under the undue influence of evil men!" She wagged her finger at the tall man and continued her lecture, oblivious to the look of complete and utter confusion that had etched itself across Sanosuke's tanned face. "It's time to move on with your life."

"Huh?" 

Mara smacked her forehead with her hand and sighed. _(The poor man obviously suffered brain damage when he hit the water....What a pity.....) _She sadly gazed at his confused expression. _(He really is a handsome, brave man....It's a damn shame that he's about as bright as a bucket of warm hamster vomit....)_

Sanosuke covered his face with his hands and cursed. _(She's insane....I bet Kaoru took pity on her and let her hang out here until the paddy wagon arrived....) _He smiled sympathetically at the deranged woman and took another step forward, determined to ease the fears of such a troubled mind. _(Poor lady....)_

"Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you." His voice, low and soft, echoed in the dimly lit building. He was almost to the woman, when suddenly she bolted and started running like her life depended on it.

"What the hell?" Sanosuke shouted, trying to catch the slender woman as she tore past him. He couldn't figure out what in the name of the Lesser Gods some looney chick in a sleeping robe was doing creeping around Kaoru's dojo, but didn't dare let her get away. "Lady? Hey! Get back here!" He groung his teeth in frustration and took off after her. __

Mara sped out of the dojo and into the courtyard, running as fast as she could , a surge of adrenaline giving her extra speed. She could hear the man yelling at her to stop _(Yeah, like that's going to happen, buddy!) _ as she ran past the gate and into the street. She looked both ways for a second and then took off down the street in the direction of the marketplace, kicking up dust and leaves as she did so.

The man was impressed . _(This nutcase can haul some serious ass !)_ He knew that he had the advantage of size, but would be hard pressed to catch up with her if he didn't seriously pick up his speed, as she was already half way down the street. _(Shit, and I thought coming back to Tokyo would be a nice change of pace) _he thought as he ran after her.

_(Come on, MOVE!) _Mara's mind screamed as she tried to maintain her pace, ignoring the burning sensation in her lungs and chest. She knew that in a few minutes her legs would give out and then she would be in serious trouble. A quick glance behind her showed that the man was already closing the distance between them. _(What a day!)_ Mara gasped, fighting the dizziness as she forced her exhausted body to keep moving . She nearly cried with relief when she saw four people turn the corner, one of them with a head full of hair the color of fire. _(Thank God!)_

"Kenshin!" she cried, her voice breaking with the effort. 

Kenshin, Kaoru, Kenji and Yahiko all looked up at once. To their collective shock, concern and well.....immense surprise they saw Mara running towards them in nothing but a sleeping robe (and a rather disheveled one at that). The person that really caught their attention though was the tall, dark headed man that seemed to be chasing her. At this point, several things happened at once:

Mara tried to tell Kenshin that there was a strange man who was hell bent on revenge that had been snooping around the dojo, but couldn't since her lungs had stopped working, so everything that came out of her mouth consisted of wheezes, coughs and gasps.

Sanosuke tried to warn Kenshin that there was a strange lady that had been sneaking around the dojo but couldn't because the aforementioned woman had suddenly run behind his friend and was pointing at him like he was sort of pervert , while trying to catch her breath.

Kaoru was trying to calm Mara down before she tore into Sanosuke, while attempting to readjust her sleeping robe (the top being partially open ) so that all of greater Tokyo wouldn't see her friend's ....uh.....chest, while also trying to knock her pupil over the head.

Yahiko was trying to get Sanosuke's attention while trying to sneak a peak down the doctor's robe (without looking like he was peeking, naturally) He could tell by the look on Kaoru's face (and the fact that she was trying to give him a concussion) that he had been caught in the act.

Poor Kenshin, naturally, was caught in the middle. He had to try and decipher Mara's

pants and accusations , calm down Sano who was loudly protesting his innocence, try and cover Yahiko's eyes in order to avoid having a livid Kaoru knock the boy into next Tuesday, all while balancing a bucket of tofu, three sacks of groceries AND a bouncy five year old. (Hey, who said being the hero was ever easy).

The whole incident eventually culminated in a series of drawn out explanations, stammered apologies and finally a touching group hug, which lasted for approximately 9.6 seconds before Sano cracked off a comment about what a "nice rack" the doctor had and was promptly slapped silly.

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In the next Chapter....

"Still, the man has a good heart...what could go wrong?"

_(Oh, you'd be surprised....)_ Sano covered his face and groaned loudly, his creative mind coming up with all sorts of awful scenarios that usually ended with the tall woman stabbing a lecherous old twit in the chest with her chopsticks and being hauled of to jail. "Fine! I'll keep an eye on her tomorrow night." He walked over to his friend and stared at him menacingly. "But I'm telling ya right now, I don't care if this guy's a friend of yours. If that son of a bitch lays a finger on her, I will personally kick his ass!...Do I make myself clear?"

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_Rurouni Kenshin is the exclusive property of Nobuhiro Watsuke and associated parties. The characters and are used as an expression of fan appreciation for the non-profit purpose of entertainment only and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the above listed entities. Original portions of this story (Including...but not limited to the character of Dr. Mara Mogensen) are the copyright of the author. This is a fictional story and any similarity with person(s) living or dead is entirely coincidental. _

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First of all, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed! 

Marstanuki - Thanks for the review. I appreciate it!

Mad Melma - Yes, the Wolf of Mibu will show up.....eventually, as will his elusive better half. (Hang in there!) Thanks for reviewing twice! 

Imbrium Iridum - You guessed correctly! I love Sanosuke too. In fact, he is my favorite character in this series. I hope you like the characterization. It will change as time passes and he goes through some "interesting" experiences. I stayed up until 2:00 am to finish this chapter because I promised you an update by Tuesday. Thanks for your support (and your wonderful stories!)

Shiomei - Thank you for your kind compliment. I am touched that you would consider this one of your favorite stories. It really means a lot to me!

Beverlyhighland - I promise that there will be plenty of more angst and waff for K/K. (Two chapters from now and you'll be at serious risk for tooth decay!) Kenji will also learn to love and adore his father...it will just take some time. (He is after all a five year old....) :)

Icegal - Don't worry. Like I said at the beginning. I am an eternal optimist and love these characters. Yes, they will go through some hard times and serious challenges. No, Kenshin won't die and Kenji won't be am embittered little punk. *Fires a bazooka at the kleenex mobile*

Kyaa-Kyaff - Thank you so much for the review! I hope you like the next chapter.

Hana Himua - Sorry that my chapters are so dang long. I'm glad that you took the time to read it! Miya Chan - No, Mara and Kenshin won't be getting together. In fact, those two will struggle to get along for some time. Both of them have their hearts in the right place, but are stubborn and inclined to look at the worst in a situation. 

  
  
  



	4. The Meiji Era Dating Game Part One

Well, I'm finally delving into the abyss....I mean of course, that I am attempting to realistically write about the process of two people getting to know one and other. I can promise you one thing, right now. If you're looking for the a defenseless, dewy eyed virginal woman swooning over a virile, robust man....*snorts* well, this probably isn't the story for you. The two main female characters (Kaoru and Mara) are complex, intelligent and wonderfully messed up human beings as are their male counterparts (Kenshin and Sanosuke). The common threads that bind these people together is their inherent desire to be loved, the pain of having lost someone that they adored, and the fear that despite their best intentions and efforts, they will lose the person that they love best. (I think that all of us, especially in such troubled times, can relate to these characters as we struggle to keep those we love safe and secure....)

  


AS TIME GOES BY

Chapter Four

The Meiji Era Dating Game (Part One)

_(Now why does that man seem so familiar?)_ Dr. Genzai readjusted his thin wire spectacles and squinted his bleary eyes tightly in an effort to see better. _(Well, I'll be a battosai's brother in law....)_

"Sanosuke!" He warbled out towards the street, gesturing that the tall, dark haired man come inside the clinic compound. "You wild haired rascal, quit loitering around the mulberry bushes and come share a little cup of "tea" with a senile old man ." 

"If you're senile, then I'm a candidate for a Buddhist monastery!" Sano barked happily as his long strides quickly closed the distance between himself and the slight, grinning physician, a man whom Sano had long regarded as his unofficial grandfather _(Thank the Gods he's glad to see me....after the day I've had, a friendly face is a sight for sore eyes!)_

"Now..now....stand back and let me have a good look at you!" Dr. Genzai craned his neck back and gazed proudly at the younger man, taking in the additional three or four inches of height and forty extra pounds of muscle that adulthood had graced upon the ex-gangster. _(The boy's as healthy as a tiger....looks like he managed to survive his adventures in the world without too much mishap!) _

"Bless my soul, I thought I'd never see you again!"

Sano grinned at the old man's age defying exuberance and patted his friend on the back, being mindful not to accidentally knock the unsteady physician over. "That makes two of us Doc." He stepped away and surveyed the changes that a six and a half year absence had wrought. The man had aged tremendously, his once erect posture now bowed and thin from obvious ill health. _(Still, the guy's as feisty as ever....some things never change)_ Sighing at the unspoken thought, Sanosuke followed the teetering physician into the thick walled clinic, then stopped and looked around, his eyes widening.

_(And some things do.....this place looks completely different!)_ White, cracked plaster walls were now painted a soft yellow hue, making the waiting room seem warm and inviting, more like the inside of someone's home than a stuffy medical building. There were vases of flowers...wild flowers to be exact....situated throughout the building, giving the spotless interior a well needed dose of color and vibrancy, filling the air with the sweet, subtle scents of chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, and tiger lilies. Sanosuke leaned over a particularly beautiful arrangement and inhaled deeply, finding the smell to be wonderfully relaxing. 

"I assume our efforts at redecorating meet with you approval?" Dr. Genzai asked proudly, his little black eyes twinkling with good humor as Sano nodded. "I have to agree with you....Mara's little project has done wonders for both patient morale and the bottom line." He chuckled and carefully repositioned several pamphlets on sanitation that were askew.

Dr. Mogensen did this?" Sano couldn't keep the incredulous tone from his voice. He ran a calloused finger over delicate yellow petals and tried to imagine the perpetually cynical and restrained woman being responsible for such warmth and beauty. "Somehow she doesn't strike me as the flower arranging type."

"You'd be surprised." Dr. Genzai quipped as they made his way into his office, a small brightly lit room that was crammed from floor to ceiling with books, beakers and tangy spice bottles. "My partner is really quite resourceful." He chuckled at the understatement and began rummaging through several filing cabinets, muttering darkly when he realized that the aforementioned woman had once again managed to find his stash of sake and confiscate it. "...not to mention bossy, foulmouthed, mal-tempered and sneakier than a boatload of weasels." Dr. Genzai huffed indignantly, then resumed searching, this time looking behind several large canisters labeled "leeches". "Ah-ha! Good thing this old man has a few tricks up his sleeve!" He turned towards Sanosuke and proudly held up a dusty bottle of sake. "Now we can have a proper cup of "tea" together and discuss your adventures."

Sano tried not to laugh as he watched the old man carefully pull out two sake bowls (hidden in a hollowed out book) and with an impish wink, tip toed over to the door and quietly slid it shut, his half guilty- half excited countenance reminding Sanosuke of a small child sneaking candied ginger from his mother's kitchen.

"She's that bad huh?" He sat down in a well worn chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him. 

"Mara?" Dr. Genzai looked up from pouring his treasured clandestine sake and grinned. "Oh yes, the woman is impossible." He lifted the sake bowl and took a tentative sip....then drained the bowl and sighed happily, his black eyes twinkling."It's a good thing I convinced her to come work with me....just to keep an eye on her of course."

"Of course." Sanosuke nodded indulgently, finding the old man's gruff affection for his new partner to be endearing. He took his bowl and slowly drank, relishing the silky smooth liquor. _(Ahhh...I've missed the taste of Japanese sake..nothing even comes close) _

"So what brings you back to Tokyo?" Dr. Genzai asked as he poured himself and his guest another bowl. 

"I don't know...perhaps a slight case of homesickness?" Sano smirked wryly. "To be honest with you, I just got a hankering to see how Kenshin and Kaoru were...I just wanted to make sure they were happy..." He frowned and put the sake bowl down then turned towards the window, suddenly pensive. _(Gods....who would have thought that those two would be having problems...)_ He frowned as looked out at a wild cherry tree, laden with abandoned bitter fruit. Of all the couples he'd ever known, the slight red head and feisty blue eyed kendo instructor were the last he would have pegged for marital difficulties. It had been the downright dreariness in Kaoru's demeanor that had thrown him for a loop, that and the omnipresent guilt that seemed to hang over Kenshin like a shroud, blocking out the light in his violet eyes, making his friend seem almost.....old.

_(Knock it off! The man's just doing what he thinks is right...besides, it's not any of my business...)_ Sano frowned again, then forced himself to relax and smile as he lifted the sake bowl to his lips, no longer really tasting the crisp liquid. _(Dammit, I just wanted them to be happy....)_ He'd been crushed when he found out how difficult the past few years had been for them, especially for his little miss. _(What in the hell was Kenshin thinking?)_ It had been a test of his will not to try and pummel the man into the ground after Yahiko had revealed to him the true extent of Kaoru's hardship, especially the part about the poor woman losing her baby....and very nearly her life. Thankfully, Kaoru had been spared and was slowly recovering, thanks to the crackpot of a doctor who was now living in the dojo.

"I know that you're very worried about the Himura's." Dr. Genzai said kindly, his face mirroring the deep concern that Sano felt. "Still, things could have turned out much worse...."He frowned remembering just how close he'd come to losing the tiny woman who was like a daughter to him. _(Kenshin was granted a second chance with his family...I hope in the name of the Gods that he chooses a different path this time...)_

"Is Kaoru....is she going to recover?" Sano asked, his throat tight.

"In time." Dr. Genzai's voice was reassuring. "You have to remember Sanosuke, that the injures to Kaoru's mind and heart are far more difficult to treat than the side effects that the typhoid wreaked on her body." He rose from his chair and walked over to the window, leaning heavily against the cool plaster coated wall. "Luckily, she's in very good hands. "

"So I've heard." Sano smiled slightly. "From what Yahiko tells me, you managed to find one hell of a doctor to help out here at the clinic."

"Hmph!" Dr. Genzai sniffed at the understatement. "Sanosuke, I've been practicing medicine for nearly fifty years. In all my life I've never encountered such a remarkable physician nor met someone with such an uncanny ability to treat and predict the onset of disease." He turned from his vantage point and sighed deeply. "It's almost a shame to waste such a delightfully sharp mind with this menial clinic... with her talents the woman could practically go anywhere and have a financially lucrative career."

"So why doesn't she?" Sano mumbled as he downed his third bowl, wondering why Dr. Genzai seemed so hell bent on pointing out Mara Mogensen's good points _(Please don't let this be some half assed attempt at setting us up.....Gods, just what I don't need to deal with, another mal-tempered female doctor...one was quite enough, than you very much!) _He smiled thinly and reached for the sake bottle. __

"It's because of Kenji....She's staying here because she promised the boy that she'd look after his mother." Dr. Genzai took off his glasses and ran a shaky hand over his eyes. "Honestly, who ever heard of such a thing...a person throwing their professional career away over a promise made to a hyperactive five year old....It's like I told you, the woman is impossible." He sniffled slightly, and wondered if old age really was making him as sentimental as his two granddaughters's insinuated. 

"Knock ! Knock ! Knock !"

Both men looked up as a low but decidedly feminine voice filtered through the rice paper panel. "Dr. Genzai? I made some tea and was wondering if you'd like some."

Dr. Genzai's eyes widened until they were the size of the forbidden sake bowls. "Hurry, hide the evidence!" He hissed at Sanosuke, throwing the sake bottle at the startled man. "If she catches us in here with this stuff we're dead men!" 

_(Oh sure, he gets to hide the dinky little sake bowls and I'm left with a gigantic bottle....how typical!)_ Sano looked around desperately for a place to hide the sake bottle, his brown eyes narrowing with annoyance as he watched his co-conspirator shove the sake bowls behind a potted geranium, frantically trying to reassure the woman behind the rice panel that he was up to his ears in incredibly pressing matters of health.

"Would you like me to come back when you're a little less busy?" The voice asked again, her mellow tone betraying a hint of sarcasm that made Dr. Genzai's left eyeball twitch nervously.

"No, no, we wouldn't want you to think that we were hiding anything....because we're not of course...being the upright and honest men that we are.....isn't that right Sanosuke?" He tittered slightly as the tall man threw his head back and promptly drank the remaining sake in one rather impressive gulp, then chucked the offending bottle out the window. __

"Dammit, Genzai you owe me one!" Sano growled as he stumbled back to his chair, already regretting the hangover that he knew he was going to have in a matter of hours.

"Yes, of course....I'm in your debt!" Dr. Genzai whispered as he hastily popped a piece of toffee in his mouth, hoping like crazy that the western sweet would mask the scent of sake on his breath _(Can't be too careful...the woman is devilishly clever...._) 

"Ready or not, on the count of three, I'm coming in....One...Two...." The door opened and Mara Mogensen poked her head inside. "Three." She fought the urge to grin as her nostrils picked up the faint but unmistakable scent of high grade sake. _(That sneaky little man...) _"I brought you a special blend of tea, perhaps you'd like to sweeten it with some soy milk or honey?" Mara smiled brightly as the old man demurely declined, her voice becoming silky as she continued, the warmth in her voice belying the absolutely chilly cast to her stormy grey eyes. "No? Perhaps you'd prefer something stronger....some sake perhaps?"

"What?....How did you....Ah, I mean, what are you thinking?" Dr. Genzai shook a finger at the tall woman, determined not to get caught. "You know perfectly well that I've sworn off the stuff...what with my heart and all."

"Of course you have." Mara crooned as she carefully placed the tea set on the desk. "Why only a complete idiot would be so stupid as to risk another heart attack by being foolish enough to drink when he knew damn well that any form of alcohol reacts badly with his heart medication."

Genzai mumbled something under his breath that sounded distinctly like "Gods, what a tyrannical woman" and forced himself to smile brightly, hoping that he'd managed to fool his protege yet again. "Yes, only an idiot would do such a reprehensible thing...." His solemn statement was interrupted by a rather impressive hiccup.

"Yes, only an idiot." Mara repeated as she poured a cup of fragrant tea, then turned and silently offered it to Sanosuke, her expression unreadable.

"Thanks." He took the teacup and gingerly took a sip of the dark liquid, then looked up. "What's in this stuff?" Sano sniffed the tea carefully, smelling within the whisps of vapor the unmistakable traces of peppermint, then took another small taste....and found to his surprise, and his already queasy stomach's relief that the strange tea blend was making him feel less blitzed than he knew he should be. 

"A bit of this and that." Mara's voice was barely audible as she poured herself a cup of tea and gracefully sat down in the chair next to him. "I've found that among other things, it's quite useful in preventing...oh, how should I phrase this...the unfortunate effects of excessive alcohol consumption." She blithely sipped her tea, ignoring Sanosuke's wide grin and Dr. Genzai's neurotic little giggle. 

_(Damn, this gal is one cool player....)_ Sano glanced over at the deceptively serene woman sitting beside him and couldn't help but be impressed. _(She knows we've been drinking and isn't even batting one pretty little eyelash...)_ He lowered his eyes to his teacup and smiled , pleased that the woman had been thoughtful enough to give him something that might forestall the effects of chugging down half a bottle of sake in under ten seconds, curious as to how she'd known he'd been dumb enough to go along with Dr. Genzai's little ruse, and more than little confused as to the reason why the "battle ax" (one of his favorite nicknames for Mara) was behaving in an almost....friendly manner. _(How utterly typical....I finally get this chick figured out and she goes and pulls something like this....) _

_(What, no scathing remarks?....No pithy little jabs?...Sagara must have drunk more than I thought....)_ Mara turned and silently regarded the tall man, her eyes softening slightly when she realized that he actually seemed grateful for the tea she'd so hastily prepared. _(It's possible that I've been too judgmental_)She lightly gnawed her bottom lip as she replayed her behavior towards Kenshin and Kaoru's long time friend and found to her chagrin, that she had in an attempt to protect herself from the man's depreciating humor, behaved in a cold and inhospitable manner. _(Dammit, I don't mean to act this way...it's just that.....)_ Mara sighed and glanced over at his tanned, ruggedly handsome features, wishing that she had the man's natural ability to converse with other people, his easy going manners and self assured bearing contrasting sharply with her painful shyness and perpetual feelings of ineptness when it came to dealing with members of the opposite sex. _(....I've always been an idiot when it comes to such things....) _She wrapped her thin hand around the fragile porcelain tea cup and forced herself to sip the scalding liquid, to keep up the calm facade that she'd so carefully constructed. _(And it's only gotten worse....since I.....) _Her grip on the tea cup tightened. _(Since....I....lost.....him.....)_

Mara closed her eyes as a flash flood of memories broke through her mental dams, filling her thoughts with murky sounds and blood soaked images _(Oh please....not this.....) _The office began to dissolve into a nightmarish medical corridor, the pleasant sounds of conversation warping into high wailing screams.....her heartbeat mimicking the rapid staccato of gunfire. _(Not now....)_ She could taste the tangy bitterness of blood on her tongue as she bit down, fighting the floating surge of panic that threatened to sweep her away from the hard won sense of control that a lifetime of discipline afforded.....the control that a mindless moment of violence had mercilessly destroyed, leaving her a shattered, washed out excuse of a woman. _(....ERIK.....)_

The empty tea cup shattered, sending white sharp shards flying. 

"What the hell!" Sanosuke gasped as he jerked away from the tiny glass missiles. "Hey watch it, Mogensen! Somebody could lose an eye or something!" 

"I...I'm...sorry." Mara whispered brokenly as she gazed down on the shattered remnants of her tea cup that littered the landscape of her skirt. Fingers trembling, she carefully began picking up the pieces, avoiding eye contact with the two men like her life depended on it. 

_(What's wrong with her?) _Sanosuke leaned over and carefully nudged the silent woman. She was bone white...her skin impossibly pale , as though it had been dusted with a geisha's finest rice powder. "Hey Doc, you okay?" He frowned when she ignored his query and looked over at Dr. Genzai, hoping for an explanation. The old man's sad expression only added to his confusion. _(What in the hell just happened?) _

"Fine, don't talk to me." With an exasperated huff, Sano knelt down and began collecting the bits of porcelain that had settled on the floor, eager to do something....anything but sit on his ass and pretend that nothing was wrong. 

"I said I was sorry." Mara muttered as she made her way over to the garbage basket_. (This is just wonderful!) _ She softly cursed when she caught a fleeting expression of something akin to pity dance across the tall man's face. _(Now he's really going to think I'm three fries short of a happy meal.....) _The thought brought her up short. _(Not that I care what he thinks of me or anything.....) _

_ (Well, well, well....)_ Despite the tense atmosphere, Dr. Genzai inwardly grinned. _(What do we have here?)_ His black eyes carefully watched as Sanosuke helped his partner clean up the broken tea cup, surprised at the man's tactful handling of such an awkward situation, amazed that Mara had apologized (twice in fact!) and was actually allowing another person to assist her.

"There." Sano dusted his hands off on his backside. "All cleaned up with no harm done." 

"Thank you." Mara murmured, her eyes still glued to the floor.

"Really, it's no big deal." Sanosuke said gruffly. "Are you sure you're all right?" 

"I'm fine!" Mara snapped as she quickly stood up, her face suddenly infusing with rosy color. _(Well this has been about as fun as a root canal without anesthesia....) _"Please excuse me, I should really be getting back to work." She brought her hands up to her flushed cheeks and hoped like hell she could make it out of the office before she started to cry, a response that was incredibly repellant to the proud woman. _(Smooth one Mogensen...way to boop!)_

_(Oh, not you don't!) _"Mara, my dear, you are impossible!" Dr. Genzai groused as he caught the fleeing physician by her arm, gleefully ignoring her vehement protests that she had a mountain of paperwork and several plot variances that she needed to try and finish before the end of the day._(You're not running away this time!)_ "You've been here since....oh, let me guess five this morning?" He waited till his partner nodded sheepishly, then wagged his finger at her as he launched into another lecture on the evils of overwork and the perils of not having a proper social life. _(Not when things are going so well....)_

_(Awww crap, not this again....)_ Mara rolled her eyes and wondered whether or not she could justify cramming her well meaning but seriously overprotective employer into one of his filing cabinets. _(First I make a fool of myself in front of Sagara...Now this !....The man is obsessed with matchmaking!)_

"........and then you had the audacity to actually pour miso soup all over the poor man's head." Dr. Genzai sighed sadly, still slightly miffed that Mara had managed to ruin another carefully arranged "meeting" with an eligible young bachelor. "I won't even mention the time we caught you hiding up in the maple tree rather than going to the theatre with Watanabe's second cousin." He ignored the rather inelegant snort from Sanosuke.

"The man had four teeth and a propensity for pinching me on the ass!" Mara protested, her voice rising with righteous indignation. "And that bastard from the Dutch embassy deserved far worse than a bowl full of soup in his face." She crossed her arms and glared at the short doctor, daring him to even try and contradict her, wishing that Sagara would quit snickering behind his teacup. _(As if this isn't embarrassing enough....)_

"What about Suzaka?" _(He seemed like such a nice man...)_

"He smelled like eight day old tofu." _(I nearly puked up my soba noodles!)_

"That nice fellow from America?" _(At least he was as tall as you...)_

"Married." _(With eight children all under the age of ten!)_

"My nephew's brother-in-law?" _(You'd better be careful Missy, this is family we're talking about...)_

"Too short." _(He was eye level with my chest)_

"Watanabe?" _(The man is an ex monk for crying out loud!)_

"Dumber than a box of hair." _(That's the understatement of the year)_

"Idakeya?" Dr. Genzai was beginning to sound desperate.

"Even dumber than Watanabe." Mara huffed, still amazed that such an incredibly moronic person had managed to survive into adulthood. She carefully smoothed back her tightly braided hair and glared at the white haired doctor. "Let's face it Dr. Genzai...it's hopeless." 

"Oh I wouldn't say that." Dr. Genzai chuckled wickedly, his beady little black eyes fixing on an unsuspecting Sagara Sanosuke (who was currently laughing his head off and therefore unaware of the imminent danger he was in). "I happen to know a perfectly eligible young man...he's well traveled, speaks wonderful English, and best of all isn't married, is slightly taller than you are, doesn't smell like sour tofu, and is remarkably intelligent, despite his attempts to fool people into thinking otherwise." He leaned back in his well padded chair and shot Mara a triumphant grin. "He's prefect."

Sanosuke roared with laughter, nearly falling off his chair in the process. "I seriously doubt your "perfect" little gentlemen could last ten minutes with Mogensen." He glanced over at the irate woman and shrugged. "No offense...."

"None taken." Mara snipped, her eyes darkening with barely concealed annoyance. She leaned against the wall and folded her arms defiantly. _(Like you'd do any better....)_

"Perhaps you're right."Dr. Genzai sighed dramatically and assumed what he hoped was an reluctantly defeated expression. "I suppose that my feeble attempts at trying to bring a little happiness into your lonely life will never be properly appreciated." He gazed sadly at his young partner, knowing that if this formidable opponent had one weakness, it was that she was notoriously tender hearted when it came to people she cared about. "Please forgive me for my meddling.....I only wanted you to be happy, to know that when I'm gone there will be someone to look after you...to keep you safe." He dropped his head and made a sniffling sort of sound. _(There.....that should do it...)_

Mara bit her bottom lip in an attempt not to start sniffling herself. "Dr. Genzai...I'm sorry." She awkwardly patted the poor man's head, then choked back a tiny sob when she realized that her mentor was nearly in tears. _(Now look what I've done....the man gave me a job, is a wonderful listener and really does have my best interests at heart....the least I can do is try and make him feel like his botched up matchmaking isn't a lost cause.)_ "Tell you what....why don't you tell this young man that I'll meet him at the Akabedo tomorrow for supper." Mara smiled bitterly, wondering if the older doctor knew how hard this was for her. "I promise that I'll behave myself...as long as the guy doesn't try and pull any stupid moves. How does that sound?"

Dr. Genzai nodded, his brokenhearted expression giving way to a hopeful....almost radiant smile. "Nothing could make this sick, old man any happier." He looked up at his somber faced protege and resisted the urge to laugh out loud, thrilled that for the first time in nearly six months, he'd finally gained the upper hand. "You don't know how happy this makes me....thank you."

"This is the last time I'm doing this for you." Mara growled petulantly. "I mean it!"

"Of course...of course....." Dr. Genzai crooned, magnanimous in his victory. 

Sanosuke silently watched the interplay between the two doctors, finding himself torn between being amused at the masterful way Dr. Genzai had managed to trick the younger physician into going on a date and slightly angry that the poor woman had been manipulated into something that made her obviously uncomfortable.He rubbed the back of his head reflexively and wondered whether or not it would be appropriate to keep a quiet eye on Kaoru's friend...just in case anything unpleasant happened.__

Mara carefully collected the empty tea cups and placed then on a wicker tray, eager for an excuse to get the hell out of Dr. Genzai's office before her employer managed to emotionally blackmail her into getting married, wearing a corset, and buying a little lapdog named "Princess". She hesitantly glanced over at Sagara and smiled slightly, thankful that for once he'd actually kept his big mouth shut and not added his scathing humor to what for her was an already unbearable situation. _(I'll have to thank him later....) _Nodding fractionally to the tall man and completely ignoring the other, Mara quickly made her way out the door and back to her office, relived that she'd finally have some blessed peace and quiet.

"Not too bad Doc, you really managed to pull one over on Mogensen." Sanosuke said

quietly as he casually examined a split knuckle. "She'd probably do just about anything to try and make you happy." He sighed and flexed his wrist, feeling the dull pain that meant he'd probably bruised one of the small bones inside his already much maligned hand. _(Dammit, I didn't even want to get in a fight with those assholes...)_

"Yes, well...in the long run Mara will thank me for it." Dr. Genzai protested slightly, his already smarting conscience reacting badly to Sanosuke's subtle rebuke. "I know she's still suffering from the loss of her husband, but it's time for her to try and move one....the woman's far too young to relegate herself to the lonely life of a spinster."

_(I didn't know she was married!) _Sano frowned, then smacked himself lightly on the forehead. "Gods, I'm as blind as a Malaysian fruit bat ! That ring she wears on her left hand is a wedding band." It was a western custom that he'd become familiar with during his travels, one of the few practices that had actually made some sense to him. _(Gods, her husband must have been one hell of a patient man....)_

"You didn't know she was a widow?" Dr. Genzai prompted quietly, his sharp mind already forming a rather ingenious way of getting the notoriously stubborn ex-gangster and the equally recalcitrant curly headed doctor in a position to get to know one another better without either parties killing each other and more importantly himself. __

"No. She and I...well, we haven't exactly spent much time getting to know one and other." Sanosuke muttered, his dark brown eyes narrowing fractionally at the thought of letting himself get mired down in a relationship ...especially with a person who reminded him of a black haired woman whose eyes were the color of Madagascan cinnamon, a woman that he'd loved with all his heart and then through his own selfishness and stupidity lost. "And it's for the best. You and I both know exactly how well I seen to do with female physicians." He stood up and sauntered over to the window, running his uninjured hand over the rough wooden windowpane. _(I'll be damned if I ever go through that again)_

_(So he still blames himself for what happened....what a pity)_ Dr. Genzai frowned as he caught the fleeting look of sorrow that passed over his friend's expressive face, only to be replaced a second later with the man's usual cocky smirk. _(How ironic...he's still mourning the loss of a woman who would have destroyed him...._)While he adored and wished Megumi every happiness that the world had to offer, he knew with absolute certainty that the tempestuous girl would have taken what little self esteem Sanosuke had managed to find for himself and crush it under her dainty little geta's._(The two of them were never meant to be....eventually he'll come to understand this and be grateful that things transpired the way they did...._)His black eyes twinkled as he heard the tinkle of a broken glass and the subsequent sound of Mara cutting loose on a foul mouthed tirade that would make a Japanese sailor duck his head and run for cover. _(In the meantime...let's see what sort of mischief I can create)_

"Sanosuke, I have a personal favor to ask of you." Dr. Genzai assumed a serious, paternal expression. "It is apparent to me that Mara is concerned about her date tomorrow night."

"Ya think?" Sano snorted at the gross understatement. "Scared shitless is more like it." _(I know how she feels....Gods, that monstrosity Tae keeps trying to hook me up with is nearly enough to send me scrambling back to Mongolia!)_ It was that very reason that he'd been lurking around the bushes around the clinic earlier, hoping like hell that he could once again avoid the thirty-eight year old woman with her collection of hairball infested bulldog's without having to hurt her feelings. "I've gotta be honest with ya Doc, I think Mogensen just needs a little space...some time to get back on her feet." _(I wish people would show me the same courtesy)_

_(Oh Sanosuke, you are such a predictable man....bless your heart)_ "Perhaps you're right." Once again the crafty doctor assumed his most penitent stance and sighed, showing every indication that he regretted his decision. "That's why I was hoping you wouldn't mind checking on her tomorrow night, just in case things go badly. Unfortunately, Mara's had several....less than pleasant encounters, despite the men's assurances that they'd be gentlemen.. To be frank, I've begun to wonder whether or not I still am a good judge of character..."

"Dammit, what type of guy did you set her up with?" Sano cracked his knuckles without thinking, his slight concern giving way to down right worry. 

"A nice enough sort of man...at least I think he is. It's been years since I even laid eyes on him ." Dr. Genzai smiled brightly. "Of course he's currently unemployed and has a rather colorful history when it comes to dealing with the fairer sex, not to mention the fact that he's notoriously bad tempered." He sighed and played with some paperclips on his desk, delighted to see the wide eyed look of panic on Sanosuke's face. "Still, the man has a good heart...what could go wrong?"

_(Oh, you'd be surprised....)_ Sano covered his face and groaned loudly, his creative mind coming up with all sorts of awful scenarios that usually ended with the tall woman stabbing a lecherous old twit in the chest with her chopsticks and being hauled of to jail. "Fine! I'll keep an eye on her tomorrow night." He walked over to his friend and stared at him menacingly. "But I'm telling ya right now, I don't care if this guy's a friend of yours. If that son of a bitch lays a finger on her, I will personally kick his ass!...Do I make myself clear?" His eyes widened with surprise at his outburst. _(Okay, where in the hell did that come from?) _

"Crystal." Dr. Genzai beamed brightly as the tall man stormed out of his office, then promptly dug out another hidden bottle of sake and poured himself a drink, content to back in the glow of his greatest matchmaking triumph. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Coming up in the next chapter.....

Sanosuke groaned as the woman's shrill voice lanced through his head, her sticky sweet

tone promising all sorts of untold anguish and at least several hours of mind numbing conversation about the joys of breeding and raising bugeyed, snaggle toothed canines. _(This is karma coming back to bite me in the ass for all those meals I mooched off Tae....)_ He banged his head against the wall, then froze when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and held his breath, praying simultaneously to several gods and six minor deities that the current bane of his existence would either be roasted alive or simply pass by his precarious hiding place. Sano screwed his eyes shut as the ferns in front softly rustled....then slowly parted _(That's it....see if I ever try praying again...)_

______________________________________________________________________________

Individual Responses to my wonderful reviewers....

  


Stoneiris (Who is not only my sister and best friend, but an incredibly talented artist and author in her own right) I'm glad that you liked the tension between Sanosuke and Mara. (Just wait...it'll be getting much better *cackles wickedly*)

Mad Melma *Hands her a box of chocolates for reviewing three times* Yes, Kenshin is quite dark in this story. I think that my characterization is based partially on his character in the OVA's and mostly on the way I think a man who had suffered so in the course of his life would behave. If he didn't have the pain, guilt and residual anguish then he wouldn't be in my humble opinion the good man that we love and adore. I'll promise you one thing though....Eventually, I think you'll see him happier than he's ever been before. (Unfortunately, this will be at the end of the story so you'll have to bear with me for a little....actually a lot longer) Thank you again for your wonderful reviews and encouragement!!! 

Scaiya - What a great review! Thank you so much! FYI...in the OVA's Kenji and Kenshin have an incredibly unhealthy relationship. (That was one of the reasons I had to write my own ending to the RK Saga. I'm very big on the whole happy family idea) The manga also hints that there won't be a great deal of harmony between the two men. As far as Megumi is concerned .... *Sweatdops and tries not to give too much away* Yes, she will make an entrance. Yes, there will be fireworks. (How's that for a wee bit of a hint?) I'm glad you liked the humorous parts. This story is going to be a mix between the angst in chapters one and two and the humor that you'll saw in chapter three and the upcoming chapters 5 and 6. (Then it gets real angsty again...)

Kka - I'm posting as fast as I can. *pants and wheezes* I'm not going to rush things though....I am very, very picky about what I write and don't want to do sub standard work. 

Shadowfax - your wish is my command. Here is another chapter. Thanks for the review!

Friuze Khanume - *Gives a big hug, both for the email and the 2 wonderful reviews!* Okay, let's see if I can answer your questions....1.) Does Mara suffer from survivor's guilt? YES. 2.) Did her husband sacrifice himself like Tomoe? All will be revealed in chapter 7. (There's a little teaser in this chapter though that I put in just for you!) 3.) How did she get to the XIX Century? We can all thank Tomoe for that little intervention. (There will be more concerning that in the next chapter) 5.) Will the Kenshingumi find out where she's really from. Eventually...one at a time.

Imbrium Iriduim *Also gets a box of chocolates for being a three time reviewer* Thank you so much for your support. As a first time author, this means so much to me. I loved your bubble scene that you wrote! Stay tuned for some more humor, a wee bit of angst and some seriously BAD poetry!

Hana Himura - Thanks for the review! You are incredible! Yes, Mara and Sanosuke are baka's of the highest order (Just wait...it gets much, much worse....these two are such twits when it comes to relationships....*sighs and smacks self on head*) Hope that you enjoy this chapter.

  


***DISCLAIMER....I DON'T OWN THE RIGHTS TO KENSHIN**** (Thank you. That is all.) 


	5. The Meiji Era Dating Game Part Two

_This chapter would have been impossible without the following sponsors...._

_My husband - (Who is my inspiration when it comes to most of Sano's dialogue)_

_My sister - (Who is my real life Mara and one hell of an editor)_

_Midori, Firuze, Imbrium and all the wonderful people at live journal - (Who helped me through a serious case of writers block and gave me such super advice)_ THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

  


PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW......THEY ARE WHAT KEEP THIS STORY GOING!

AS TIME GOES BY

Chapter 5 The Meiji Style Dating Game (Part Two)

  


"Clink." _(There....that takes care of the dishes....) _Kaoru thought wearily as she wiped her wet hands on a threadbare towel. A slight sigh escaped her lips...the soft exhalation wordlessly conveying what words never would. _(Now I just need to put the rest of the food away, get Kenji tucked in for the night, finish my mending, write to Misao, unroll the futon....)_ Another sigh snuck out despite her best intentions. _(....go over the ledger for the second year students, write up reminder notices for the third, darn Kenshin's tabi before his toes stick out.....) _She rolled her head from side to side, trying to work out the tight knots in her neck and shoulders, grimacing slightly as the overworked muscles protested the action. She was tired....exhausted in fact....and had at least two, mabey three hours worth of chores to complete before she could even consider throwing herself on her futon and getting some well needed rest. 

"Are you all right?" 

She smiled at her husband's gently query and nodded, her mouth quirking up into a wry little smile. "Just out of practice. " Kaoru folded the damp dishtowel and placed it beside the stacked dishes. She looked down at the floor, inwardly groaning when she realized that it was littered with rice and who knows what else Kenji had managed to knock on it. _(Great...make that four hours....)_ "You know how Mara is." _(She has a hissy fit if she even sees me looking at a broom, let alone using one....) _Normally her friend would have insisted on tackling most of the post meal work herself, grumbling about the need for Kaoru to take it easy. Tonight however, Mara was off to the Akabedo for dinner, an unwilling participant in Dr. Genzai's attempts at matchmaking. _(Bless her heart....she's such a good sport to put up with the idiots he sends her way....)_

"Yes, I do." Kenshin smiled tightly, unsure whether the remark was a subtle rebuke or simply the truth. _(Perhaps it's a little of both....)_ "You're lucky to have such a wonderful friend." It was as honest an answer as he could manage without sounding peevish._ (She buys most of our food, keeps this house spotless, and takes better care of you and Kenji than I ever will....)_ Mara had promised him that she wouldn't be a bother. What he hadn't counted on was her being indispensable. He had forgotten that their houseguest was going to be occupied for the night and had spent most of the evening talking with Sanosuke before the tall man had also disappeared, muttering some cryptic remark about...."babysitting the battle ax". _(Goodness, that certainly doesn't sound pleasant....I hope he stays out of trouble....)_

"So are you." Kaoru muttered under her breath, unwilling to bring up a topic that invariably ended up turning into an argument. _( I don't understand....the two of them have so much in common, they should be the best of friends....not awkward acquaintances....) _From the beginning, Mara and Kenshin's relationship had been a study in extreme restraint and mutual distrust. _(They remind me of two cranky tigers circling one another....)_ Mara was wary of Kenshin's temper and had the habit of treating her husband as though his mental state was less than stable. Kenshin was convinced that the tall woman was concealing her true identity and was two steps shy of being a potential threat to their family. _(He thinks her chi is unnatural....She thinks he's a nutcase....)_ Kaoru snorted as she began picking up the scattered grains of rice._(And knowing my luck....they're both probably right....)_

"Here....let me help." Kenshin knelt beside his wife and quietly started to sweep up the errant remains of dinner into his hand. _(It's the least I can do after acting like such a twit...)_

"You don't need to.." Kaoru began. 

"But I want to." Kenshin finished quietly. "I want to help you...if you'd let me."

His hopeful, almost hesitant expression touched a tender spot in Kaoru's heart, the pain and uncertainly she heard in his voice nearly put her in tears. _(Look at him.....even now, he's still afraid of getting too close....)_ Her hand fisted tightly into the fabric of her kimono. _(...And I'm not helping matters any by being such a grump....)_

Initially, the distance between them had been born of medical necessity. Mara had been explicit in warning her...and especially her husband... that another pregnancy so soon after her miscarriage would be nothing short of suicide, that her body (and especially her mind) were far too fragile to endure the inherent dangers that came with carrying and bearing a child. Then, whether it was due to her own hesitancy at being put in such a vulnerable position....or Kenshin's guilt at having been away when she needed him most, the utter lack of intimacy had continued, even after Mara had indicated that she was no longer in danger. _(And so we've waited....and waited....and waited...)_ It had been nearly a year....an eternity of restraint and withdrawals that left her feeling like she was less than a wife....less than a woman. Kenshin, naturally had accepted the restrictions without a word of complaint, the rock iron strength of his mind overriding the objections of his body. He was caring and attentive, polite and reserved, did the laundry and cooked the meals....._(And acts as though the last thing he'd ever want from me is the thing I most want to give him....)_

"Thank you. "Kaoru said quietly, torn between being thankful that Kenshin was helping clean up and disappointed that despite the two of them being alone for the first time in weeks, he still seemed disinterested. _(Perhaps a little hint wouldn't be out of order....)_ "It certainly is quiet tonight." She looked over at her husband with a hopeful smile. "I can't remember the last time we had the house to ourselves."

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kenshin replied in what he hoped was a reasonably bland voice. _(Please don't remind me....I'm having a hard enough time as is....) _He took in a steadying lung full of air when his hand brushed up against Kaoru's kimono bound leg. _(I want her so badly.....)_ He forced a placid expression and tried to ignore the white hot rush of desire that thrummed through his veins...the feeling twice as heady and far more dangerous than any opiate._(....I need her so badly....) _It had been months since they'd laid as man and wife, a nightmarishly barren period of time that had consisted of him battling his libido, pretending that he was content with the occasional kiss and periodic snuggle, being forced to go on numerous moonlit walks and taking more cold baths than any man ever should. _(I have no right to complain....)_ He glanced over at Kaoru's pale face and sighed, still seeing within her wan countenance the silent reminders of sickness and pain, still feeling within her, a chi that was riddled with the unhealed scars and fears that the loss of their child and his neglect had engraved on her soul. _(She has suffered as a result of my selfishness....that's why I have to wait until she's ready....)_ Kenshin clenched his teeth and forced himself to focus on picking up grain after grain of rice. _(...even if it kills me...)_

_(I don't understand !!!) _Kaoru fought against the urge to throw herself atop her husband and smooch him until his lips fell off. _(How can he be so.....)_ She took a quick peek at her spouse's serene smile and nearly screamed out of frustration. _(CALM ?)_ It wasn't fair ! _(First he touches my leg....then he scoots a little closer....)_ Her nostrils twitched as she picked up the faintest hint of laundry soap, a scent she had long associated with the man she loved. Kaoru froze as Kenshin's hand inched towards hers, her weariness replaced with fierce hope. _(Oh, Please....) _

_ (Kaoru...)_ She was so close that it was intoxicating, so utterly desirable....her touch leaving him in pain and shaking with barely suppressed need. _(Let me do this....)_ He swallowed reflexively as he reached out with his free hand and gently cupped her face, giving her plenty of opportunity to pull away....praying that she wouldn't. _(I need to hold you...touch you....even if it's just for a moment....) _The pads of his fingertips grazed Kaoru's jawbone, then hesitantly traced the outline of her full, rose tinted mouth. Kenshin groaned softly when his wife caught the tip of one finger and nipped gently...her smoldering expression igniting fires deep in his body, the heat burning away the shackles of guilt and melting his remaining resistance like frost at the coming of the summer sun. _(Perhaps she wouldn't mind....)_

"Dammit Kenshin, quit thinking and start kissing !" With a barely stifled growl, Kaoru grabbed her husband by this gi and yanked him against her, roughly covering his mouth with her own in a kiss that was almost ravenous, her tongue plunging into his mouth, the action imitating the act so long forbidden. _(Gods above and below, a woman can only stand so much!) _

_(Oh...my!) _It was the only coherent thought that Kenshin could come up with as his sweet little wife straddled him, then gave him a kiss that nearly blew his toenails right off. _(Oh.... YES !)_ She was everywhere, her hands slipping underneath his gi, her lips trailing down to his collarbone, lightly nipping at the juncture between his neck and shoulder. His handful of rice went flying as he eagerly threw his arms around her, crushing her against him. It felt so damn good....holding her like this, tasting the warm sweetness of her tongue as it moved against his, the smell of her unbound hair falling about them both in a midnight curtain. 

"Kenshin, you idiot..." Kaoru moaned as he arched up against her, his fingers tightening possessively against her hips. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted this ?" 

"I thought..." Kenshin's voice was rough with passion. "I thought that you didn't want me to...." He threw his head back, gasping with pleasure at his wife's unspoken response."...that you weren't ready...." Kenshin looked up at her, his breathing becoming ragged. "It appears that I was mistaken." His pleasantly shocked smile was replaced with a lascivious grin as he quickly reversed positions, pinning Kaoru beneath him. 

"As was I.." She grinned up at her husband, enjoying his uncharacteristic boldness. "What ever are we going to do to make things right?"

Kenshin pretended to consider the question (for about 2.3 nanoseconds) , then bent down and began kissing his wife in a way that left no doubt as to the brilliant solution he'd come up with. Long denied desires sang out to him, reminding him sharply that despite his mistakes and guilt, despite a lifetime of doing without, he was simply a man. _(A man with needs....)_ He paused for a moment and simply held Kaoru tightly against his chest, beyond thankful that the Gods had seen fit to grace him with such a treasure. _(....A man in love....) _Kenshin's heart was pounding loudly in his ears, filling his blood with the heady song of desire. The melody was ancient...a mindless duet that interwove between kisses and whispers, a primal chorus that burned into the marrow of his body and sent his soul ablaze. The world around him melted from this heat, leaving behind the mere essentials...the desire to love and be loved....to find within the woman he adored the release he so desperately needed...the pleasure he so wanted to give. He groaned when Kaoru rocked her hips up against him, her unspoken ardor making him blind to the wide eyed little read head who poked his head into the kitchen, deaf to the sound of childish feet as they tiptoed towards him.

  


With a triumphant shout Himura Kenji pounced on his parents, thrilled to have caught his father unaware....delighted that his mother could turn such a pretty shade of red.

"Hi Daddy! Hi Mommy!" Kenji chirped, oblivious to the mayhem that his interruption had caused. "Can I play too?" 

_(Just breathe....that's it.....breathe....) _Kenshin held perfectly still, his eyes scrunched painfully closed. _(It's not the end of the world....)_ He cracked one eye open and looked down at his poor blushing wife. _(Look at it this way....at least we still have our clothing on....)_ Somehow that particular thought only made things more....uncomfortable.

"Kenji." Kaoru said sweetly between tightly clenched teeth. "Why aren't you in bed ?" She glanced up at her mate and tried too keep her composure. _(Why aren't WE in bed?)_

"I was." Kenji beamed. "Then I heard something go bump.....then you said a naughty

word....and knocked Daddy over and jumped on him!" He leaned over at gave his red

faced mother a pat on her head. "I didn't know you knew how to wrestle!" He was impressed. "Did Sano teach you how ?" 

"No." Kaoru smiled wickedly, hoping like hell her kimono wasn't too askew. "Your father did." 

_(Kaoru!)_ Kenshin clamped his hand over his wife's mouth before she said something that completely warped their precious little angel. _(Good grief ! ) _"Silly Mommy!" He plastered a wide smile across his face and tried to pretend he was standing up to his waist in ice water. "She's such a tease!" 

Kenji laughed merrily. "I like it when Mommy teases you." He wrapped his chubby arms around his daddy, and gave him a fierce hug. "She makes you happy." 

" She's not the only one." Kenshin said tenderly as he stood up, taking the time to help Kaoru to her feet and give her a thorough kiss._ (I never knew I could love someone as much as I love you....) _

There were times when being a part of a family was nothing less than a miracle. _(This is one of those times...)_ Kaoru wiped her eyes with her sleeve and watched as Kenshin reached down and picked up their son in a protective embrace, a sight that only a year before, she would have never even dreamed of seeing. _(This makes all the hardship...all the pain seem worthwhile....) _Her heart sang at the sight of her child so contented.....of her husband so at peace._(Please let this last....Let us have this time together...to be the type of family we should be....)_

"Daddy?" Kenji whispered as he nestled against his father's chest. "Do I make you happy?" 

"What do you think?" Kenshin asked carefully as he gazed down into violet eyes that mirrored his own. 

"Yes?" It nearly killed him, hearing such hope in one simple word...and such uncertainty. _(Even now...he still doubts his place in my heart...)_ Kenshin gathered his little boy into his arms a placed a tender kiss on Kenji's forehead. _(...I'm so sorry, Son....I promise I'll make it up to you....) _"You mean the world to me."

"Really?" Kenji smiled up at his daddy and snuggled closer. _(I'm glad....)_

"Really." Kenshin whispered softly, as he made his way toward his son's bedroom.

Meanwhile, Over at the Akabedo

_ (I solemnly swear that this is the last time I will ever do this !!!) _Mara cautiously peered into the brightly lit (and recently renovated) restaurant, hoping that she could catch a glimpse of her date before going inside. _(Just in case....) _With the wariness that comes from unpleasant experiences, she carefully scanned the room a second time, and found to her immense relief that there was no one who matched the rather enigmatic description of Dr. Genzai's friend. _(I bet he got cold feet !) _The thought made her grin like a fool. After tonight, she could finally declare victory against the butt pinching, half brained, undereducated, oversexed, knock kneed excuses for single men that Dr. Genzai kept throwing in her direction, and focus on the issues that were really important in her life. Mara stopped....and pursed her lips together. _(Hmm...let's see....those "issues" would be work, work, work....and....Oh, yes! More WORK...) _Her triumphant spirit sputtered slightly. _(How pathetic....it doesn't matter what damn century I live in.....I'm still about as exciting as a petri dish full of streptococci...) _Some things, she decided would never change. 

_ (Not bad....not bad at all.....) _Sanosuke couldn't help but stare at the tall doctor as she neurotically kept peeking into the front window, her western styled dress nicely accentuating the subtle curves of her body, the rich verdant color contrasting nicely against Mara's milky white skin, making her appear more like an elegant marble statue instead of a young, nervous widow._(Goes to show what I know about women....)_ In all honesty, he had half expected the mal-tempered physician to show up her usual mannish attire, her curly hair braided tightly against her skull in an effort to make her appear far more intimidating that she already was. _(Not that she needs to work on that aspect of her personality....that woman could give Shinomori lessons on being unapproachable...)_

He could almost see Mara and Aoshi silently kneeling in some drafty old temple for weeks on end as they contemplated whatever it was that stuffy, uptight introverts thought about when they weren't being pissy. _(Gods, wouldn't that be a treat...) _Sano chuckled softly as he imagined Shinomori sipping his tea....at peace with the universe....oblivious to the fact that Misao was doing cartwheels in front of him in nothing more than her birthday suit. _(What an idiot....he's so wrapped up in guilt that he's going to miss out on the best thing that life has to offer a person....)_

Sanosuke peered through the leafy branches and sighed. _(He's not the only one....)_ Like Shinomori, the pale woman standing below him was fighting a losing battle against a merciless adversary, an opponent that would never die, never admit defeat. He had seen this enemy at work as it reduced Kenshin to a wraithlike creature who had been content to rot away his life in the hellish back streets of Rakinumura rather than live without the woman he thought he had failed to protect. Megumi had also fallen prey to its manipulations, allowing her bright smile and tender heart to become brittle, her loving nature to wither from regret. _(Like I have any room to talk....) _He too, had lost far too many fights against this unseen menace, and even now...after nearly seven years still struggled to keep the bitterness at bay, to keep his half healed scars safely concealed beneath a stinking pile of selfish indifference. 

_(Still, it beats the hell outta getting my heart stomped on again....)_ He reflexively rubbed the back of his head, grimacing slightly at the painful memories. _(I leaned my lesson after tangling with the Fox....Now I keep things nice and simple...)_While he had no qualms whatsoever about visiting the pleasure quarter whenever the need arose, the couplings remained nothing more than a physical act to ease a physical urge, the nameless women easily forgotten in the aftermath of such emotionless encounters. _(This way nobody gets hurt....)_ He ignored the quiet little protest in the back of his mind that whispered that since deciding to live this way, he had never felt so.....alone.

_ (I wonder what she'd think of such an arrangement?) _Sano leaned as far forward as he dared and gazed down at the dark haired woman. _(She'd probably chew me out for being an asshole_.) He suspected that the stern doctor was decidedly old school when it came to such things, perfectly willing to deny herself the perks that came with a good tumble....and ready to condemn anyone who thought differently. _(I'd bet good money she's not been with another man since her husband died...) _The tree branch suddenly groaned from his weight, threatening to snap. _(Oh...shit...)_ With a stifled oath, Sano threw himself back, wincing as the motion caused the oak tree to shed dozens of autumn tinted leaves down towards the earth...and on Mara's head...alerting her to the fact that something...or someone heavy was lurking right above her.

"What the hell?" Mara cocked her head to the side and listened carefully, her eyes narrowing with annoyance as the tree branch groaned a second time, prompting another bout of leaf shedding. _(How utterly typical....Only I would choose to stand next to a tree that has some twisted little pervert up in it....)_ She glared up at the leafy canopy and wished that she had a sling shot handy. _(I guess I should probably go inside before he decides to come down for a visit...) _Blind dates were bad enough....tree hugging peeping toms were an entirely different matter. Mara carefully backed up away from the inhabited oak tree...and into the Akabedo, thankful for once that the place was jam packed with people. 

_ (Whew....that was a close one !) _Sano thought as he carefully climbed down from the tree that he'd been perched in, then slowly sauntered towards the entrance, determined to size up Dr. Genzai's friend, make sure that Mogensen would be all right, then get the hell out of this part of town before a SHE showed up. _(Gods, wouldn't that be a damn awful ending to such a great day?) _He carefully peered through the glass, watching as Mara spoke with Yahiko for a moment, her usually somber face lighting up when the younger man shook his head, prompting Sanosuke to guess that either her date hadn't shown up yet or had cancelled. His suspicions were confirmed when Yahiko escorted the woman to an empty table, then left her alone with a menu and a simmering cup of tea.

_(Well that was easy!.....Looks like I'm off the hook for the rest of the evening...) _With a self satisfied snort, Sano turned and started to stroll down the street, eager to find himself a nice game of dice, a couple of fools with plenty of money to loose and a warm bowl of sake._(Yup...things are definitely looking up....) _He shoved his hands into his pant pockets and whistled a bright tune he'd picked up somewhere in the Appalachians. _(I have a feeling that lady luck is on my side for a change....)_

She wasn't.

"Yooo-Whooo!" Sano froze, his tanned face paling. "Look, Mr. Woo...it's our widdle rascal !" 

There were very few things (let alone people) in the world that were capable of instilling terror into the heart of Sagara Sanosuke. Minomoto Sakura was one of them. With a painful groan, Sano covered his eyes, unwilling to look upon the heavily made up face of his greatest adversary, a bow be-dangled , broad hipped woman with big teeth and a mean streak a mile wide. _(No matter how hard I try...she always ends up finding me !) _In his life he had been hunted by police, gangsters, corrupt politicians, irate restaurant owners, landlords, several religious zealots who had been hellbent on showing him "the light", a handful of lawyers and a one eyed tiger with a penchant for nibbling on man flesh somewhere in the jungles of India. _(At least the tiger would have shown me mercy....)_ Sano whimpered softly as the instrument of his destruction (and her dog) waddled happily towards him, eager on turning what had been a perfectly wonderful evening into a never ending estrogen filled nightmare. _(This broad doesn't know the meaning of the word....) _

With terror born speed, Sanosuke darted back towards the Akabedo entrance and looked around wildly for a garbage bin he could throw himself into, thus avoiding having to converse with Minomoto Sakura and the half-pig, half-wolverine that she daintily referred to as her dog._ (The minx just doesn't know how to take a hint....most women would get the idea the moment the man starts running away like his life depended on it!) _He groaned as he heard the unmistakable grunting sound that came from a certain ribbon festooned, morbidly obese brindle bulldog followed by an incredibly high pitched giggle that caused his teeth to ache, then promptly threw open the restaurant door and flung himself inside. _(Gods above and below, please don't let her find me!) _

  


"I can't believe this!" Mara shook her head in disgust and crumpled up another overpriced bid . _(Do I have "Hello, I'm an idiot !" pasted across my forehead?)_ This was the fifth bid she had rejected this week because of the ridiculously high estimates. _(I only want the roof on the clinic re-shingled....Not the whole damn building remodeled...)_ She muttered an explenitive and crammed the wadded up piece of paper into her pocket. _(Those bastards know that I really need to get this fixed ...) _A recent wind storm had wreaked havoc on the old, worn wooden shingling on the left side of the clinic, leaving several portions of the building bare to the elements. _(...And don't know a thing about carpentry...) _Repairing a perforated bowel was easy, figuring out the difference between a rafter and a joist was nearly impossible. Mara snorted in disgust and picked up her steaming cup of green tea, deeply inhaling the clean, refreshing scent before delicately sipping at the piping hot liquid. _(I'll just have to think of something...)_

"Pssst!" Mara nearly dropped her tea cup and quickly looked around, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets when she realized that the person making the noise was Sagara Sanosuke and that for some inexplicable reason, the tall man appeared to be nearly in tears and was hiding behind a large potted fern like his life depended on it. "Hey, Mogensen....would you mind doing me a little favor?"

"Would it involve pruning or some other form of gardening?" Mara smirked. "It would appear that you are tangled behind some greenery."

"Ha, ha very funny." Sano murmured quietly, his eyes never leaving the front door. "Just look out the window and tell me if you can see a lady with a dog."

"Sure, no....problem." Mara carefully craned her neck back and looked out the front window, then whistled and shook her head pityingly. "Damn....that is one ugly animal!"

"Yeah and the dog's not much to look at either." Sano muttered darkly behind the curtain of ferns.

"Now where did my handsome prince run off to?" Mara jerked her head up as the woman in question came charging through the door, bedecked in what had to be the butt ugliest, cleavage revealing, low cut, high hemmed scarlet dress that Mara had ever seen. Sitting awkwardly in her hamhock sized hands was a growling bulldog who was wearing a matching red ribbon around his fleshy neck and seemed to be suffering from a rather nasty sinus infection by the amounts of snot coming from it's pugged nose. _(No wonder Sagara's hiding....Sweet Jefferson Davis, the woman could be a linebacker for the Steelers...and that dog....ugh!)_

"Darling, I know you're hiding somewhere....really, your playfulness is just too cute to resist." Minomoto Sakura loudly giggled, the shrill tones accompanied by a menacing growl form her drool covered dog. "Perhaps my brave widdle emperor will have to sniff the naughty boy out...what do you think my widdle cuddly ball of love....should we see where our darling man was run off to?" A rather ferocious bark was followed by another round of giggling. "Come out, come out where ever you are!" 

"I'm sorry ma'am, but dogs aren't allowed inside this establishment!" Yahiko protested as the burly woman brushed past him like he weighed no more than a bucket of rice, barely avoiding a well placed nip on the arm from the incredibly gaseous beast she was holding. "I must insist that you take that....that...thing outside immediately!" 

"Oh you are such a sweet boy!" Minomoto cooed as she turned around and pinched Yahiko on the cheek, oblivious to the nearly murderous rage that flickered across the young man's features. "Don't you think so Mr. Woo? Isn't this the cutest widdle waiter that you've ever seen?" She giggled as the slobbering canine planted an unbelievably sloppy lick across her mouth, causing the aforementioned waiter to make a gagging noise, then storm off before he gave in to the nearly uncontrollable impulse to smack the drool covered woman in the face with the working end of a cast iron wok. "Oh, too bad...I was hoping that the widdle angel would help me find out where our favorite chew toy is hiding." 

Sanosuke groaned as the woman's shrill voice lanced through his head, her sticky sweet tone promising all sorts of untold anguish and at least several hours of mind numbing conversation about the joys of breeding and raising bugeyed, snaggle toothed canines. _(This is karma coming back to bite me in the ass for all those meals I mooched off Tae....)_ He banged his head against the wall, then froze when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps and held his breath, praying simultaneously to several gods and six minor deities that the current bane of his existence would either be roasted alive or simply pass by his precarious hiding place. Sano screwed his eyes shut as the ferns in front softly rustled....then slowly parted _(That's it....see if I ever try praying again...)_

"Sagara?" Sanosuke hesitantly opened one eye, then sagged bonelessly against the wall, relieved beyond measure to see two large grey eyes framed by long, coal black lashes, a pert nose and the prettiest mouth he'd seen this side of the Pacific. _(Just kidding...thanks for the help!)_

"Mogensen, you don't know how happy I am to see you!" 

"Thrilled to hear it." Mara snapped as she yanked the startled man out from behind the ferns and started dragging him towards the back of the restaurant, glancing over her shoulder every three seconds. "Now let's see if we can find you a place to hide before your girlfriend sucks your face off."

"Keep talking like that and I'm liable to puke all over that pretty dress of yours." Sano muttered as he stumbled along behind her, still trying to decide what was more surprising...the fact that he'd managed to give Minomoto the slip....or that Mara Mogensen was responsible for his escape. 

"Listen pal, now's not the time to be threatening to blow chunks." Mara hissed as she shoved Sano behind another potted fern. "You're in enough trouble as is." She peered around the corner at Sanosuke's rouge covered pursuer and shook her head. "I don't suppose you tried telling her you weren't interested?"

"Do you actually think I enjoy being chased all over Tokyo by Attila the Hound and her four legged shit machine?" Sano shot Mara a look that spoke volumes.

"Point taken." Mara tapped her chin thoughtfully, considering several escape options and whether or not she actually had the time and was willing to entangle herself in them. _(I've got to get back to work and finish those morbidity reports for the latest round of dysentery, not to mention find a way to keep the animals from messing up my medical supplies until I can get that damn roof fixed ....)_ That morning, she had been shocked to discover a mother racoon and her offspring nestled in the linen bandages that she'd spent a weekend sterilizing. _(I've never come so close to wearing fur in my entire life...)_ Mara rolled her eyes, and turned towards Sagara, her gaze settling on his darkly tanned hands. _(Hold the phone....)_ She suddenly recalled seeing those hands holding a hammer and a bag of nails after Kenji had broken the hinges on the bath house door.A brilliant idea born from extreme necessity instantly blossomed._ (Hmm, let me think....Kenshin mentioned something about Sagara being pretty decent at fixing stuff up....that could prove useful...) _She glanced over at the tall man (who looked like a condemned prisoner on his way to the gallows) and smiled in what only could be described as a predatory manner._(Yes, he should do just fine...It's a damn shame that I can't just ask him for help) _She gnawed her bottom lip for a moment and wished that she didn't have to resort to underhanded behavior to get what she wanted. Unfortunately the man kneeling beside her wasn't the type to simply agree to performing manual labor simply for the hell of it, especially for a woman he couldn't stand. _(I'm doing it for the clinic....and the well being of my patients...)_ Happily buoyed up with justification, Mara took a deep breath, donned her mental hip waders, and reluctantly sloshed into the moss covered lake of female flirtation. _(It's fishing time...)_

"Boy, I bet you've had a rough time keeping away from her." 

Sano nodded sadly and fought against the urge to sniffle. "It's been just awful."

"I can imagine." Mara nodded sympathetically _(That's it....cast out the line....) _"You certainly don't deserve to go through this tonight."

"You're right." Sano agreed whole heartedly. " I don't." He glanced over at the slender woman and smiled, thankful that she understood what he was going through. _(Perhaps she's not so bad after all....)_

"Of course not !" Mara plastered on a syrupy smile. "That's why I'm going to help you get away from her." _(Dangle the bait...)_

"Really?" Sano wondered, his warm brown eyes becoming slightly wary. "You'd do that for me?" _(Okay, what the hell is going on here ?)_ Something was definitely up. _(For one thing...the battle ax is smiling....And for some reason...she's smiling at me...) _Yes, something was definitely afoot. _(Ya, know...if I wasn't so damn good looking, I'd almost think that Mogensen was trying to pull a fast one on me....)_ His cocky grin broadened. _(Who knows?....Mabey the chick is coming to her senses....I am pretty irresistible...) _

Mara fluttered her eyelashes demurely. "How could I resist helping such a nice, strong man?" 

_(Dammit...now I KNOW she's up to something!) _Sano inwardly groaned as a particularly high pitched "Yooo-Whooo!" floated down the narrow hallway. _(Gods, talk about being between a dog and hard place!) _Sano looked at Mara and made his decision. _(Well, whatever she has in mind, it's better than dodging the drool princess for the rest of the night...)_

"Besides, I know that if I was in trouble, you'd do whatever you could to help me out."_(And reel the sucker in...)_

"That's true. I would." Sanosuke nodded in resignation, anticipating the sweet smell of freedom, knowing that it was likely to come at a very steep price. With a heavy sigh, he shoved his hands in his pockets and awaited his hard won liberation.

_(That was way too easy.....I wonder if he knows that I'm pulling a fast one on him...)_Mara glanced over at the suddenly subdued man, her doubts quickly dissolving as she took in the dull slightly glazed over expression on his face. _(Good grief, what am I thinking....Sagara couldn't find his way out of a wet paper bag if his life depended on it...) _She shook her head, took her newly acquired handy man by the hand and marched into the kitchen.

Back at the Dojo

"Honestly Son, it's a wonder that you can get to sleep at night." Kenshin smiled as he excavated another treasure (a half eaten apple) from his son's rumbled bed. So far, he had found two pinwheels (one broken), a well worn stuffed animal, three special rocks and an oddly shaped blue painted sword that Kenji insisted on calling a "light saber"_ (He's addicted to those stories that Mara tells him....)_ He ran his hands over the toy free futon, then turned to Kenji and ruffled the boy's hair. "Looks like I found all the surprises."

"Nope." Kenji rocked back on his heels, enjoying the game. "You missed one." He covered his mouth and tried not to laugh at his fathers surprised expression. 

"Are you sure?" Kenshin carefully felt around the bedding, half praying that he wouldn't find the moldering remains of a long dead lizard hiding amongst the bed covers _(Knowing Kenji....I wouldn't be a bit surprised...)_

"Yup." Kenji nodded, his violet eyes becoming round with anticipation as his daddy got closer to the hiding place. "It's my favorite !" He shrieked with glee when his father pulled out the well hidden toy. "You found it!" Kenji bounded over to his daddy. "Do you know how to use one?" 

"Where did you get this?" Kenshin gasped as the color bled out of his face._(I...don't...understand.....)_ He looked over at his son then back down to the toy lying in the palm of his hand. 

"Um...I..." Kenji bit his lip nervously, aware that for some reason his father was upset. "Well...she gave it to me." 

"Who gave it you?" Kenshin caught his Kenji by the arm, his voice becoming stern. "This is important Kenji!" _(Gods, this can't be!) _He looked back down at the faded paint and fought down the urge to vomit. 

_(What did I do wrong?) _Kenji's lower lip trembled. _(Where's Mommy?) _He craned his head towards his parent's bedroom, hoping that his mother would come back out and make everything better. "The pretty lady did." 

"The pretty lady?" Kenshin whispered, trying desperately to keep his composure. "Do you mean Mara?" 

"No." Kenji shook his head, becoming more nervous. He tried to pull away from his father, confused as to why he was clenching the small wooden top so tightly and looked so upset. "The lady was pretty....like Mommy." A small whimper escaped. "Please don't be mad at me." Kenji blinked rapidly, fighting against the urge to cry. "You can have it if you want."

"I'm not mad at you Kenji." Kenshin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Just a little confused." He carefully pulled his son to him, whispering soft assurances...trying to calm the five year old....and himself. _(There has to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this....)_Kenshin looked down at the faded wooden top. It was remarkably plain and slightly singed on one side, as though it had been exposed to flame. He carefully held up the top, turning it slightly to the side...looking for...and finding the engraved kanji of his name that he himself had carved into the only toy he'd ever owned. _(This cannot be....I left it in our home to burn...I left it with....her....)_

"Daddy?" Kenji peered up at his father. "Are you sure you're not grumpy?"

"I'm sure." Kenshin forced a calm smile. "This is a very nice top. Would you mind telling me about the pretty lady that gave it to you?" 

"Okay..." Kenji nervously picked at a loose seam on his pant leg. "She gave to me the night that Mommy was sick......"

  


Five Months Earlier 

  


"Kenji! I need your help." Kenji hesitated when his father motioned that he come closer. "I need you to talk to Mommy and help keep this compress on her head." Kenji nodded and knelt down by the futon. "I need to go and get a doctor. I'm sorry that I have to leave you alone, but I need to hurry. Promise me that you won't leave your mother's side!"

"I would never leave Mommy alone!" Kenji looked over at his mother, and in spite of his brave words, started to sob. "She will be alright, won't she Daddy?" He winced as his father tousled his hair , then quickly ran out of the room, leaving him alone with his sick mother. _(She's sick because you came back....)_ A tear escaped and ran down his cheek. _(And now she's going to die....)_ He had overheard the hushed whispers between his father and the doctor earlier that morning and knew that something terrible called Typhoid was hurting his mommy.

"Ken...shin....." Kaoru moaned painfully, her thin, cracked hands plucking at the blood spattered blanket. "No.....don't....." Fever bright eyes looked vacantly around the room. "Don't....leave....me!" Tossing her head from side to side, she called out for her husband over and over again, oblivious to Kenji's distress.

"Momma?" He whispered as he tried to keep the cloth from falling off her head. "Please Momma, don't be sick." His voice broke. "I need you to get better." He was scared. "Please...." The room was too dark for his liking, the feeble light from a single candle creating scary shadows that haunted the corners and walls. Kenji hesitantly brushed back a damp lock of hair from his mother's face, wincing at how hot her skin was and how pale. 

"It hurts...." Kaoru groaned...then suddenly started twitching strangely, opening and closing her mouth like she couldn't breathe. Kenji instinctively grabbed her soiled yukata and tried to jerk her towards him.

"Mommy!" He screamed when Kaoru began to vomit up blood tinged bile. _(Oh...no!)_ He frantically tried to wipe the stuff away from her face, then gagged from the offensive smell and texture and had to pull away before he threw up. _(I don't know what to do!) _Kenji yelled loudly that he needed help, praying that his father or Yahiko would hear him. _(I don't know how to help her!) _Kaoru screamed again, her cries punctuated by another round of vomiting that left the right side of her bed covered in vomit and Kenji in tears. "Somebody...please help!" He covered his eyes and sobbed raggedly, unable to bear seeing his mother in such terrible pain. "Please.."

"Shhh...It's all right." Kenji yelped when a hand settled on his shoulder. "A doctor will

be here shortly." He looked up and gasped. 

"Who are you?" 

A slender woman smiled and knelt beside him, pausing to gently wipe away the traces of blood and tears on his face. "I'm a friend." She took off her purple shawl and dipped it in the water basin then carefully began to clean up his mother, taking no heed that the fabric was becoming impossibly stained. "I thought that you might like some company until the doctor arrives."

"Mommy's sick." Kenji sniffed miserably. "She keeps barfing and I don't like it a bit."

"Of course you don't." The pretty woman nodded and continued her ministrations. "No one likes to see someone they love in pain." Her dark eyes shimmered. "Especially when they don't deserve it." She took Kaoru's hand in her own and whispered something softly to the sick woman. Kenji gasped with delight when his mother stopped struggling and simply fell asleep, the faintest hint of a smile gracing her pale lips as she rested quietly. For several minutes neither he nor the strange woman spoke, finding an easy sort of companionship during their vigil. Occasionally he would glance up the black haired woman, trying to figure out what such a pretty lady was doing sitting beside him in the middle of the night.

"Are you and Mommy friends?" He ventured when his curiosity finally got the better of him.

"I'm sure we would be." The woman smiled warmly at him. "You mother and I never had the chance to meet each other." 

"Oh." Kenji pondered the enigmatic statement for a second. "Do you know my Daddy ?"

"I do." She looked down at him with a tender expression. "He is very dear to me." 

"Daddy left to go look for a doctor." Kenji mumbled quietly. "He said that I needed to stay here and take care of Mommy." He looked over at his mother and clenched his fists. _(He always leaves....)_

"I know." The woman whispered as she pulled back the blood stained sheets and rested her thin hand on Kaoru's lower abdomen, shaking her head sadly for some reason. After several seconds, she sighed and carefully covered the smaller woman up, her face contorting with palpable grief. "He is still looking for answers Kenji." 

"Answers?" Kenji scooted closer to the pretty lady. "I don't understand."

She tenderly kissed his forehead, replacing his fear with contentment, his anger with peace. "You're father is a good man who loves you both very much." Kenji gasped as he looked into her bottomless black eyes, seeing within the darkness an image of his father kneeling in the middle of the road and weeping. "Unfortunately, he has misplaced his priorities ." She frowned slightly....then tilted her head as though she was listening to something. "Ah....it appears that she has arrived safely."

"She?" Kenji frowned. "Who's she?"

"The doctor I sent." The woman winked at Kenji. "She's a very nice lady who is going to help take care of your family for a little while." With a secretive smile, the woman pulled a wooden top out from an unseen pocket and handed it to the wide eyed boy. "Here. This belongs to your father." She stood up and carefully draped her shawl (which was now perfectly dry and free from blood stains) around her. "Why don't you keep it until he's ready to have it back."

"How will I know?" Kenji asked curiously. "Daddy and I don't ever play games with each other."

"Don't worry." Her whisper was as soft as a daydream. "You will."

  


Two and a Half Miles South of the Akabedo

"C'mon....." Sano said coaxingly. "Quit being so damn stubborn and tell where you learned to do that little trick." He flashed his most disarming smile at Mara, determined to weasel the information out of the reluctant woman. 

"Fine." Mara rolled her eyes and let out a long suffering sigh. "My father taught me." 

Sanosuke waited for a few seconds, hoping for more information...then tried again. "No kidding? What was he...some sort of burglar or something?" 

"No." He caught a faint hint of a smile flit across her pale face. "He was a policeman....one of New York's finest." 

"So your old man was a cop who taught you the finer points of lock picking." For some reason, the irony made sense. "And what about your mom? Was she the one who taught you to swear and play poker?"

Mara's smile faded immediately, leaving behind a slightly sad...wistful expression. "I never knew my mother. She died right after I was born."

"Oh...um, sorry about that." Sano inwardly winced. _(Way to brighten up the_

_ atmosphere...)_ "So...is that why your dad named you Mara?"

"Huh?" 

"Your name." Sano prompted. "Doesn't Mara mean "bitter sorrow" or something?"

_(Now, how in the hell does he know that?)_ "I guess." Mara shrugged and kicked a stray pebble. _(This guy might not be as dumb as I thought....)_ "My parents were originally planning on calling me Augustine."

Sanosuke laughed and shook his head. "I like Mara much better."

A slight blush crept up Mara's cheeks. "So do I." 

"Ya know, I met a woman named Augustine when I was stuck in Paris. She was about as attractive as the working end of an outhouse but had a voice like an angel." He smiled as a mental refrain danced through his mind. "Gods, she was amazing! One aria and she had the entire audience in tears." 

"What did she sing?" Mara asked, her eyes lighting up with interest. 

Sano grinned. "Which time? I saved every franc I could get my dirty hands on just to get to listen to her. Still, if you're pushing for a favorite aria, I'd have to go with _L'amour est un eiseau rebelle." _

"You like Bizet?" Mara clasped her hands together eagerly. 

"I like Beethoven better." Sano shrugged sheepishly. "Unfortunately, the only German words I know are insults and types of beer." 

"That's okay." Mara laughed. "I lived in Germany and that's enough to get you through the day." _(And well into the night...)_

"No kidding?" Sano quirked up an eyebrow. "You speak German?"

"Of course. Mara replied. "And I take it you speak French?".

"Oui!" 

_(I'll be damned....This guy is definitely not the idiot I took him for....) _Mara pursed her lips together. _(Wait a second.....)_ She glanced back over at Sanosuke, noticing for the first time that the ex-gangster seemed to be a dead ringer for Dr. Genzai's "perfect gentleman". _(He fits it perfectly...except for that part about speaking English....hmm...It's time to test a theory....)_

"SON OF A BITCH !" Mara shouted in English. 

"Now that's a little harsh!" Sanosuke groused (also in English). "Just cause you're not too keen on French speaking Japanese men it doesn't give you the right to get all bitchy on me!" He was about to launch into a tirade on narrow minded female physicians, then suddenly reconsidered when the target of his righteous indignation spat our a remarkably profane curse and viciously kicked the metal lamp post.

"Easy there tiger !" Sano paused as the much maligned lamp recieved another kick. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong before you break your toe?" 

Mara paused mid kick and pointed an accusing finger at the now seriously confused man. "IT'S YOU!"

"Me?" _(Now what did I do?!?)_

"YOU'RE THE ONE!"

"Huh? What one? Who me?" Sano pointed to himself. "Dammit woman, you're making no sense!"

"You're the one Genzai has been trying to set me up with!" Mara backed away from Sanosuke like he was dressed in a radioactive leisure suit. _(I'm going to kill him....Oh!....That sneaky little sake drinking geriatric matchmaker has really done it this time!)_

"That's impossible!" Sano protested, his face paling. _(He wouldn't dare....Would he?)_

"Think about it...who do you know that is tall, well traveled, single, speaks English and doesn't smell like sour tofu? _(At least most of the time...)_

"You might have a point there." 

"The only thing that threw me off was that whole bit about you being remarkably intelligent." 

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean? Sanosuke snapped.

"Never mind." Mara waved his protest aside. "Would you do me a little favor?" 

"Well, technically I do owe you one for getting me away from Minomoto." Sano folded his arms and leaned against the slightly dented lamp post. "What do you have in mind?"

"Revenge." Her smile sent shivers down his spine. "Meet me at the clinic tomorrow morning." 

Halfway down the Himura's Hallway

_(Where in the hell is he?)_ Kaoru thought as she stomped down the hallway, her emotions fluctuating somewhere between arousal and anger. _(Honestly, how long does it take to put a five year old to bed?)_ She paused at Kenji's doorway and listened carefully. _(That's strange....Either they both fell asleep....)_ Her mouth thinned out when she realized that the front entrance to the house was slightly ajar.Kaoru carefully tiptoed to the door and peeked outside. "Kenshin?" 

He was sitting on the front porch with his back to her. "Kenshin?" She repeated in a soft voice. "Are you all right?" Her heart lurched when she detected a slight trembling in her husband's shoulders. _(What on earth is going on....)_ She sat down beside him and hesitantly placed her hand on his knee. "Darling, what's wrong?"

"I...I...don't understand." His voice was no more than a raspy whisper. "It's just not possible?"

"What isn't possible?"

"This." She looked down at a small wooden top that was lying in Kenshin's upturned palm. "This isn't possible." He looked into his wife's blue eyes, seeing that they were wide with worry. "Kaoru, I left this...I left it with her..." He choked back a sob and shook his head. "I couldn't bear to take it with me...not after what happened that day." Kenshin covered his face with his hands and groaned. "Not after what I did...." Long suppressed memories surged up within him...the scent of snow laden pine trees....a fluttering purple shawl that impeded his vision....the heartrending sounds of steel cutting into innocent flesh....his heart shattering as her lifeblood spilled out onto the soft powdery snow. _(Tomoe....)_

Kaoru instinctively embraced her husband. "It's all right..." 

"No." Kenshin shook his head . "It's not." He looked down at the wooden toy and willed it to speak, to reveal the designs and motives behind its sudden reappearance into his life. _(All I have to go on are the fanciful tales of an imaginative five year old and the half truths from a woman who has done nothing but help my family while hiding her true intentions ...)_ A more fanciful man would perhaps have leapt over the abyss of logic, seeing within both implausible stories a common thread and theme."Someone is trying to send us...." He frowned and shoved the top into his pocket.".....no....to send me a message." 

Kaoru smiled softly and stood, taking her somber husband by the hand. "And what would that message be?" _(And why won't you tell me what's wrong?)_ She led him gently away from the darkness of the night and unspoken fears that still plagued his mind, bringing him back to the light of his home and the safety of her heart. _(Oh, love...even now, after all this time...after all we've been through.....)_ Her grip on Kenshin's hand tightened. _(....you still insist on hiding your pain from me....)_

"I don't know." Kenshin paused at the threshold of his home, his thin frame fragmented by the flickering warmth of candlelight and the chilly evening gloom. _(But I intend to find out...)_He looked over at his beautiful wife, then shifted his gaze downward till it lingered on their tightly intertwined hands. In the space of a heartbeat, his half healed grief and unspoken fears drifted away like harbor fog, leaving behind the simpler desires and wishes of his well worn heart. _(Eventually.....)_ Without a backwards glance, Kenshin stepped forward with Kaoru by his side. 

Early The Next Morning

  


"And a lovey good morning to you!" Dr. Genzai tipped his cap and smiled as a young mother and her child passed him on their way to the market. It was a beautiful Autumn day...the brightly colored leaves were at their best, there was a slight tang of coolness in the air, and he could detect the whispered scent of wood smoke threading it's way down the crowded streets of downtown Tokyo. _(A lovely morning to you all...)_

Things were going well for him. His heart felt wonderful (for a blessed change) Ayame and Suzume were the pictures of grace and refinement (except when they weren't), and he had even found a brilliant new hiding place to stash his sake in (in a box underneath the bedpans). Yes, things were going very well....very well indeed.

_(I wonder how things went last night....)_ He smiled serenely as he imagined Sano and Mara sitting side by side at the Akabedo as they shamelessly flirted with one and other. He could almost see the tender look in Mara's eyes as Sanosuke poured her some tea, her normally pale face aglow. _(I'm sure they both had a delightful time...)_ Dr. Genzai sighed wistfully as he searched for his keys, his creative little mind coming up with one sugar coated scenario after another. _(How could they not....)_Most people considered Sagara Sanosuke nothing more than an unemployed ex gangster with a impulse control problem. Mara's track record when it came to dealing with men had up to this point been nothing less than a complete and utter disaster.He wiped a sentimental tear from his eye. _(...they're perfect for each other...)_

"Ah...here we are." Smiling brightly and still daydreaming, he fished out his keys from his satchel and began to unlock the clinic door...only to find that it was already open. _(How delightful....Mara must already be here....) _Dr. Genzai rubbed his hands together with gossipy anticipation. _(I can't wait to hear the details...)_ His black eyes sparkled wickedly. _(...and then share them with everyone else...) _This was the thing that matchmakers longed for...the dirt of dating...the nitty gritty angst ridden secrets that everybody wanted to know about and nobody wanted to confess. _(These are the things that make an old man's life worth living...) _There was a triumphant lilt to his step as he pushed open the clinic door...took three steps....and promptly tripped over Mara's unlaced boots. 

_(What in the name of the Gods is going on ?)_ He gingerly picked up the leather soled foot ware with the tips of his fingers, then gasped when his eyes fixed on another pair of shoes that were lying haphazardly near a large potted geranium. They were decidedly male and disconcertingly familiar. _(And why are Sanosuke's shoes in my clinic ?) _A panicky prickle of concern flitted though his old bones, alerting him to the fact that by the looks of things, Sagara's worn shoes were the least of his concern..._(Oh my hell...)_

With a groan, Dr. Genzai tottered over to what appeared to be a pair of women's stockings that were draped over a chair. _(There has to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this....this...occurrence.....)_ His heart plunged down into his knees when he followed the discarded clothing trail towards Mara's office. _(Sure there is.....)_ Things quickly went from bad to worse for the now nearly hysterical matchmaker when he passed a pile of petticoats and a faded white jacket that boldly proclaimed the owner's wickedness. _(....I just don't want to think about it....)_ Black eyes narrowed angrily at the thought of his innocent partner succumbing to the worldly charms of a certain ex-fighter for hire. _(How dare he take advantage of such a delicate, fragile woman ?) _He gasped and picked up what looked like one of those "brassieres" that western women insisted on wearing_. (And how dare she let him do it so easily?)_

_ (What am I going to do?) _Dr. Genzai covered his mouth as he stared down at Mara's lace fringed pantaloons that were wantonly lying on top of a pair of Sano's trousers. _(What am I going to tell the others?) _He pressed his ear to the closed door and listened carefully for any sounds within. _(I can't tell them...if word of this indiscretion gets out, my impeccable record will be forever tarnished...) _His mouth went dry. _(I'll be ruined...the laughingstock of the Tokyo matchmaking community....)_ This wouldn't do. _(As Mara's duly self appointed husband finder, it is my duty to confront her seducer....force Sagara to marry her and hope to high heaven that there won't be any "additions" as a result of this catastrophe!)_

With a heavy heart and a guilt stricken countenance, Dr. Genzai slid open the door and peered inside, hoping that perhaps he would find Sano and Mara chastely looking over his second rate collection of haiku, dreading that he'd find them making poetry rather than reading it. _(It's just not fair!) _He blinked stupidly as he took in the unrolled futon behind his partner's desk...._(All I was trying to do was find her a husband! )_....then nearly had an aneurysm when he realized that there were two blanket covered bodies that were still lying on it. _(Gods and demons! He didn't even have the decency to take her to a hotel!)_ Dr. Genzai gripped his cane and tiptoed closer, determined to clobber the young (and cheap) womanizer over the head. _(That scoundrel's gone too far this time!)_ White bushy eyebrows quivered with fatherly rage, horrified that he had been so incorrect in his appraisal of Sanosuke's character. _(And to think I was going to give him permission to hold her hand!) _Taking another deep breath, Dr. Genzai mastered his righteous anger, closed his eyes just in case there were any uncovered unmentionable female parts. _(By damn , there had better not be any!)_ and lifted up the blanket.....

"I love the sounds of screaming in the morning..." Mara leaned contentedly against the roof, savoring the apoplectic cries that were drifting up from the clinic. "It sounds like victory."

"Is he gonna be okay?" Sano blanched as another round of swearing erupted from below. "I mean, the man does have a heart condition...."

"Oh, he'll be fine." Mara said reassuringly as a torrent of profanity laden curses gently drifted through the breeze. "If that man can down two bottles of sake a week without keeling over, he can handle one little practical joke."

"You call this little?" Sano raised his eyebrows questioningly. So far, Mara's "little" lesson in dating empathy had resulted in the two of them making provocative clothing paths through the clinic, plumping pillows and blankets to resemble two sleeping bodies (the heads of which he had helpfully painted to resemble himself and his co-conspirator), covering their feather filled counterparts with a blanket, then climbing on top of the clinic roof and awaiting the arrival of their mutual matchmaking adversary."Remind me to never piss you off."

"Only if you promise to stay away from the calligraphy brushes." Mara laughed and smoothed out the wrinkles on her ink stained skirt. 

"Now don't give me that." Sano protested, pretending to be hurt. "You got a real kick outta the artwork I did."

"The obscene gesture you painted was a nice touch." 

"What can I say?" He winked. "I'm a talented man."

"And a humble one as well."

"Cut me some slack Mogensen." Sano laughed and leaned back on his elbows. "Everybody has to have at least one major character flaw."

"Oh really?" Mara grinned. "And what, pray tell is mine?"

"Now that's a tough one. " Sano's gaze swept quickly over at the sculpted landscape of Mara's face, noticing how the sharp planes and angles of her jaw and cheekbones contrasted sharply against the lushness of her mouth and the attractive, foreign shape of her wide set eyes. He'd never seen the reserved physician like this, relaxed and almost carefree...her normally pale features aglow with laughter, her dark eyes sparkling. _(Gods, she really is an attractive woman...)_ Sano's gaze fell to her rosy upturned mouth. _(Especially when she smiles...._)"Until last night, I would have said that it was your pissy attitude."

"And now?" Mara asked quietly, her calm voice belying the rapid pace of her heart.

Sanosuke regarded her for a long moment, then turned away and fixed his focus on some loose shingles that had fallen to the ground below. "As long as you keep smiling like that, I'd say you're pretty damn close to perfect." 

"Quit teasing me." Mara's face erupted with rosy color. 

"Who said I was teasing?" Sano looked over at her, his expression becoming unusually serious. "Honestly Mogensen, you've got everything going for ya....you're smart, a terrific doctor, and when you let your guard down and let yourself be happy, you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever met." 

"Please...don't say that." Mara brought her knees up to her chest, struggling to keep her tattered emotions from completely unraveling. _(I can't deal with this....not now....not ever again...)_

"Why not?" Sano leaned closer. "It's the truth." His eyes widened when the disciplined woman turned three shades of scarlet, sputtered something unintelligible and turned away. _(I don't believe it.....she's shy!) _For some reason he found the discovery to be an endearing one._(Gods, how long has it been since I was around a modest woman..._) "C'mon babe, surely I'm not the first man to say something like that to you."

"No. You're the second." Mara risked a glance over at her companion and tried keep her composure. "My husband was the only other person who's ever told me I was pretty." She inwardly cursed when she felt another round of blushing commence, and wondered whether jumping down from the roof and running for dear life was an option. 

"You still miss him, don't you." Sano's voice was surprisingly tender.

Mara nodded and tried to keep the threatening tears at bay. "Everybody keeps telling me that I need to get over it....that I need to move on...." She tilted her head up and stared straight into the sun. "But I don't know how." 

"There are some people you just don't get over." Sanosuke smiled sadly when the woman nodded, seeing within her heartbroken countenance a sharp reminder of the pain he felt when he'd lost Megumi. "Believe me, I know." 

He scratched the back of his head then winked at Mara, determined to brighten the somber mood. "Tell ya what, the next person that tries to give you that load of crap....you just send them to me....." Her eyes widened as he cracked his knuckles menacingly. "I'll make damn sure they have a proper attitude adjustment."

"You'd do that for me?" Mara whispered, unaware that she was echoing Sano's comment from the night before. 

"Yeah." Sano grinned roguishly. "On two conditions."

Mara quirked up a thin eyebrow. "Name them." _(Dammit, I knew there was a catch....Oh, well...I deserve it after the way I tried to manipulate him....)_

"First of all, I want you to knock off the honorifics and shit." Sano rolled his eyes. "I'm no gentleman and never will be."

_(You're more of a gentleman than you'll ever know...) _Mara nodded. "And the second?" "You have to take me out to dinner after I fix this damn roof." He pointed to a couple of sections that were shingle free. "I don't think that your patients would like getting rained on." Sano held out his hand. "So, do we have a deal?"

Mara hesitated for a second. "Only if you let me pay you for the work...." She looked away for a second, then took a deep breath. "...and you quit calling me Mogensen." 

Sano laughed and grabbed the woman's smaller hand in his own, sealing the deal.

______________________________________________________________________________

_Coming up in the next chapter......_

Kenshin blinked and looked down at Kaoru. _(That scream didn't come from my wife.....) _He shook his head, trying to clear the passion induced haze that was permeating his mind, making normally sharp senses dull with pleasure. The sound of a woman screaming filtered through the bedroom again, the tone desperate. Kaoru sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. _(Oh no!......What have I done?)_ The angry, masculine rumble that followed only confirmed her fear._(Mara!)_ She looked up at her husband with a horrified expression. _(He's snapped!)_

Kenshin stood up and threw his yukata on, hoping that he had enough time to try and save his wife's friend before she met...well, whatever fate the ex-gangster had in store for her _(I can't believe that he would harm her!) _His eyes narrowed as the screaming began again, this time there was a frantic, hysterical edge to it. 

________________________________________________________________________________

_I don't own Kenshin. (But there are times that I wish I did.....*drools*) Please don't sue!_

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_THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO REVIEWED....PLEASE KEEP IT UP....._

_Benjamindover - Your review was one of the nicest that I have ever recieved. Thank you!_

_Me - I'm glad that you liked the characterization._

_Kenshin_Chibi - I'm glad that your sister and you are enjoying this story. I hope that you enjoyed the Tomoe section in this chapter._

_Madoushi-Clef - What did you think of Minomoto Sakura?_

_Midori - *hugs* Thank you for all the reviews. You are an inspiration! _

_Ice Angel - *high fives* Thanks for the wonderful reviews. You are a super writer and a wonderful person._

_Stoneiris - What can I say to my real life Mara? You are and will always be my best friend. I love you!_

_Le-Chan - Do Sano and Mara get together? Will Kenshin ever get himself right with his family? *winks* Keep on reading ....._

_Camila -Thanks for the review (I put in some extra K and K just for you!)_

_Shadowfox - Both Kenshin and Kaoru would be upset if they found out that Dr. Genzai was trying to get Sano and Mara together. (But for entirely different reasons....)As for whether or not Sano learned to improve his defenses... the answer is yes. (In some of the upcoming chapters there will be some serious fight scenes where he'll get to show off a bit....Hang on....)_

_MadMelma - She does and will. *laughs wickedly*_

_Imbrium - I know...Kenshin and Mara should bond....but they won't for a long time. Both of them are naturally cautious and their first encounter was ....slightly less than stellar. Thanks for the super review and the wonderful stories that you write._

_Hana Himura - I'm so glad you liked the story._

_Marstanuki - Yes, Megumi and Mara will eventually meet each other (THEY WILL NOT GET ALONG....) _

  


_PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE, WHAT I CAN IMPROVE ON AND WHAT YOU THINK....._

_IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME...._

_LOVE AND THANKS...MightyMightyMunson_


	6. Dancing To Disaster In Three Quarter Tim

_WELL, HERE IS CHAPTER SIX._

_I WANTED TO THANK EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED AND HELPED ME OVER THE WRITER'S BLOCK....*HUGS EVERYONE* YOU ALL ARE WONDERFUL!_

  


_After this chapter, things will start to darken up a bit. I hope that you'll stay with me through it. _

  


_AS TIME GOES BY_

_CHAPTER SIX_

  


_DANCING TO DISASTER IN 3/4 TIME_

  


"One...Two...Three....One...Two...Three..Come on, count!" Mara whacked her head against her palm, exasperated. "I can't believe that you can keep track of five hundred sword repetitions but lose your place after three steps!" She cranked up the phonograph (On loan, courtesy of Tae)and stared at the young couple on the dance floor (actually, it was a dojo floor but she was in a pinch and had to make do with what was available. "Again. From the beginning." 

"Aughh! You're worse than Kaoru!" Yahiko sniped as he took Tsubame by the hand and started repeating the dance steps. The young man looked like he was preparing for a lethal confrontation with an enemy long sworn for revenge, his normally handsome face twisted into a grimace, brown eyes sparking with concentration. "One..Two..Three....One...Two...Three..." 

"Tell me why I'm doing this again?" Mara leaned over and hissed into Kaoru's ear.

"Because I asked you to." Kaoru smiled serenely as she watched her "prize" pupil step on Tsubame's toe for the eighth time. _(All those years of insults, name calling and disobedience, and now....Ahhh....Revenge!.....I can die a happy woman) _She had of course, jumped at Tae's suggestion that Yahiko and Tsubame learn some European dance steps for the upcoming party that the Akabedo was catering. Not only would the experience give her teaching assistant a well needed dose of humility _(I can't believe that he stepped on her toe again.....The poor girl will have to be carried home!)_ but it also gave her the chance to learn more about western culture. She turned and quietly watched her friend as she gnawed her bottom lip in frustration.

"Tsubame, honey...How are you going to know where you're going if your eyes are closed?" Mara smiled tightly in the effort not to hurt the younger girls feelings. _(Be nice. She's already been in tears three times...) _"Remember, this is supposed to be a "pleasant" encounter...not a freaking death march....errr....sorry bout that _(See! There she goes again.....)_. "Why don't we take a breather for a few minutes?" She muttered, rubbing her head in the vain effort to forestall a massive headache caused by two people with four left feet.

"If I were you, I'd find better dancers." Sano barked as he and another man walked into the dojo. "These two are hopeless....." He grinned as Yahiko lit off into another barrage of insults that ceased as soon as it began.

"Yahiko....your language....!" Tsubame looked up at her boyfriend, hands on her little hips and did her very best to glare (For the record, it didn't even come close to a glare, but we have to hand it to her for trying). Yahiko blushed and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "I'm sorry."

"Oh, you are so whipped!" Sano laughed and dodged a right hook from his younger friend. 

"Sanosuke, he is simply trying to have good manners." Kaoru's voice was deadly sweat. "Why don't you emulate his example and introduce us to your friend." She stood and walked over to where the two men were standing, Mara followed as she rolled her eyes at the thought of another round of "Getting to Know Sano's Buddies..." _(Hell, the last one tried to feel me up within three minutes of meeting me....)_

"This is Edward Thornton, a friend of mine who works for a British shipping company." The tall, blond man nodded his head. Kaoru bowed. Mara didn't bother. _(Impressive...he still has his teeth...Sano's taste in friends is improving)_

"Thornton, this is Himura Kaoru and Mara Mogensen, two of the finest gals you'll ever lay eyes on." Sano finished the introductions in English, hoping that Mara wouldn't swat him for the last part. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Mara extended her hand and was pleasantly surprised when the Englishman took it and kissed it _(Hello!)_.

"The pleasure is all mine, I can assure you." Edward smiled, ignoring the slightly possessive reaction of his friend. His blue eyes roved over the two women, sizing them up with practiced ease. _(He was right, both are quite beautiful...ohhh...blue eyes...very nice....too bad she is happily married....now for the tall one.....) _He started appraising her finer attributes until a rather tartly phrased comment brought him up short.

"Are you about finished?" Mara put a hand on her hip and waited.

"Just about." Edward quipped, ignoring the nudge from his friend.

"You want me to turn around?" This time the doctor's voice was almost venomous. 

"Would you mind?" He laughed then ducked as a rather impressive right hook whizzed past his ear. 

"Hey! You promised to behave." Sano growled, half mocking, half serious. He turned to Mara and shrugged, knowing he was going to catch an earful as soon as they were alone.

"I'm frightfully sorry, perhaps I can make it up to the lady?" Edward offered.

Mara laughed and shook her head. "No thanks, I think I'll pass." 

__"Hey! How bout us?" Yahiko walked over.

"Thornton...this is the punk and his girlfriend." Sano muttered, still wondering whether or not Mara was angry at him.

Edward graciously greeted the young couple, making sure to pay a kind compliment to Tsubame. Her response was typical, a squeak and a blush, then she was behind Yahiko, peering shyly at the tall foreigner. 

"Mara, I think I'll go inside and check to see whether or not Kenji is up from his nap." Kaoru made a graceful if not quick exit, hoping that her friend wouldn't mind, wanting to get away from the foreigner with such appallingly bad manners. 

"Of course he isn't up from the nap, your house is still standing." Mara pouted and turned to the Yahiko and Tsubame. "Okay you two, back to work......I promised Tae you two would learn the waltz by tomorrow." She looked over at the men. "And knowing my luck you two are just going to stand there and watch.

"Of course babe, that's why we came over." Sano smiled, his insincerity reaching an all new high. 

"But Mara....."Yahiko's whine was stopped dead with a single glare. 

"No butts about it...now move!" Mara started counting. "One...Two...Three....One...Tsubame......in order to dance you need to actually move sweetie. " She walked over to the girl and bent down, wrapping her arm around Tsubame's shoulder. The two talked for a moment, then Mara nodded. "Of course, I understand completely." She gave the Sano and Edward a lizard look, _(As if this isn't hard enough!)_ then told Tsubame to sit down and watch.

"What...what are you doing?" Yahiko squawked as Mara grabbed his hand and put it on her waist.

"What does it look like?" Mara rolled her eyes as the blushing commenced. "Yahiko. Start counting before I get ticked..."

Yahiko gritted his teeth, cast his sweetheart a look begging for her forgiveness and started to count "One...Two...Three....One...Two....Three...."

"Look up at me." Mara titled his chin as they made their way around the floor. "Remember, during the waltz, the male dance partner should always be in control, leading the female. This is your chance to be in charge, you should enjoy it while it lasts." Mara's last comment caused Sano's companion to chuckle. 

"Yahiko." Mara sighed as the younger man's face took on a tortured expression. "You're supposed to look like this is a pleasurable experience. 

"Well...it's not!" Yahiko sputtered as he lost count and lurched against the taller woman.

"I know that." Mara growled between clenched teeth as her toe took another hit. "I don't understand Yahiko, I know that you have more than enough coordination to do this....what's the problem?" She stopped dancing and looked at the young man for a moment. "Is it the whole "touchy-feely" thing that you're uncomfortable with?"

Yahiko nodded, wishing that the dojo floor would open up and swallow him. 

"I see...." Mara stepped away from him and tried to figure out what to do._(I'm not going to force him to do this...) _"Yahiko, in your culture, a man doesn't touch a woman unless they are a "couple" right.?" The young man nodded and glanced at Tsubame, who ducked her head and went scarlet.

"In western culture, it's different. There's touching ....and then there's "touching". Does that make any sense?" She groaned and looked over at the two men, wishing that she could wipe their smug faces across the dojo floor. "Any help would be greatly appreciated !" 

"My help is gonna cost ya." Sano grinned.

"You really are shameless." Mara shook her head. "Fine! One dinner at the Akabedo."

"Three dinner's, and you have to go gambling with me on Saturday." _(That's right...aim high!)_

"Hey, don't flatter yourself, buddy! Two meals and a new set of dice...final offer." 

"Done." The two shook hands. Edward stifled a laugh.

"It looks like the two of you do "business" on a regular basis."

"You have no idea." Mara rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's do this." 

"You think you can handle it?" Sano swaggered over to where she stood and slowly put his hand around Mara's waist and drew her close. He inwardly smiled at the faintest glimmer of apprehension that danced across the woman's face, only to be replaced by a steely expression that his friend favored when she was nervous.

"I think I'll manage." Mara said dryly. _(If you stop looking at me that way) _

"We'll see." Sano whispered against her as they began moving in time with the music. 

_(Well, I'll be damned...old rooster head actually knows what he's doing!)_Yahiko stared, slack jawed as the former gangster moved across the floor, guiding the woman in his arms with an easy grace that Yahiko wold have thought his friend incapable of. 

"Now...look at the way Sanosuke is leading Miss Mogensen." Edward walked over to the younger man and pointed. "See....when he wants her to move, he exerts slight pressure on her waist to indicate the direction." Yahiko nodded as the pair gracefully changed directions. "Remember, the man always leads the woman. He is in control. Just like in life." 

"Why does the man always have to lead?" Tsubame asked quietly. "It doesn't seem fair."

"Tsubame, this is only one type of dance. There are other forms where the woman's part is more....aggressive." Mara called out as Sano executed another turn. 

"Really?" The girl looked up hopefully. "Do you know any?"

Mara nodded and looked away for a second. "I do...but I think we should focus on the waltz for the time being." 

"Oh come on Mara! Show us!" Yahiko rocked back on his heels, enjoying the "trapped" expression on the doctor's face as she shook her head. He leaned over to the Englishman.

"I'll bet you five bucks that she doesn't have the nerve to show us." Edward looked at Mara carefully, and nodded. "We have a wager then."

"I don't think it's a good idea. Besides, I'm sure that Sano isn't familiar with dances like that. Right?" She looked up and Sano and gave him a look. _(Please just say yes and let me get out of this!)_

"I'm sure that I could pick up the steps easily enough." Sano laughed at the doctor's murderous expression. "It's a shame that you're so uptight, we could show these kids a thing or two."

Mara froze. "I am not uptight !" Sano's hand tightened against her waist _(Oh no? You're strung as tight as a bow) _and brought her closer, pressing her against his chest. Mara quickly looked down at the floor, trying to get her heartbeat under control, then gasped as she felt Sano's breath against her ear.

"I think you are." Sano teased. "Trust me babe, you're just not the aggressive type." He suddenly released her and chuckled as she stumbled away from him, blushing furiously. "Don't you agree Thornton?"

Edward watched the interplay silently. _(What is he thinking ?) _"It would seem so." Mara's head snapped up at the comment and her eyes sparked angrily. 

"Oh, really?" _(Yeah, like you have any idea what I'm like, you tea sipping dork!)_

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Miss Mogensen. Proper modesty and timidity in a female is an admirable trait." Edward smiled sweetly, knowing that his reaction was just the thing to goad the tall woman past her shyness. 

"That's the truth!" Sano's low laugh grated on Mara's ears "And that's what we have here. One very well trained female, a perfect little lady." He spit the words out, trying to ignore the almost hurt expression on his friend's face, once again trying to distance himself from her, resorting to the barbed, sharp word play that had served him so well when he felt himself getting too close. He had enjoyed dancing with her more than he wanted to admit, the graceful way she moved, the feel of her body against his own, seeing that smile that he had grown to cherish._ (What was I thinking.....being this close to her is a mistake....)_

"Why are you doing this ?" Mara's voice was quiet but Sano could feel the undercurrent of anger developing. He set his jaw and just looked at her. _(Just get angry at me....it will make things easier....) _

"C'mon Sano, knock it off." Yahiko muttered. While he enjoyed seeing Mara riled up as much as the next person, the teasing was becoming almost mean spirited and two against one odds weren't fair. "Don't worry about it Mara, you can show us another time."

"No." She sat down and took her shoes off. "I'll show you now." Mara glared at the two men and stood up, tying the bottom of her tunic in a knot. _(I don't know what your deal is Sagara, but you have managed to really piss me off!)_

Sano swallowed, not expecting this reaction. "Come on, I was just kidding." 

"Really?" Mara snapped as she walked towards him. "You sure fooled me."

"Mara, I don't think this is a good idea." Sanosuke muttered "Look, I didn't mean to..."

"I think you did." She regarded him skeptically _(You always pull something like this...Why?) _

"Tsubame, despite what Mr. Edward told you, women also have the ability to lead, to be in charge, even the most "uptight" woman has power." 

She started slowly moving, showing Sano the basic dance pattern, a variation on the Cha Cha. He watched for a moment then stepped towards her carefully, still unsure of what she was planning. Mara shook her finger at him and pivoted out of his reach, her hips swaying right past his finger tips . "Without the woman, there is no dance." Mara moved closer to Sanosuke, finally allowing him to take her by the waist. "He touches me because I permit it." She smiled darkly at her companion and put her hands on his shoulders, nodding as he drew her body closer to his own, all the while moving rhythmically. "He leads me because I allow myself to be led." She smiled as Sano's grip on her waist tightened and rocked her pelvis slightly against him _(Let's see how you deal with that one.....)_ To his credit, Sano didn't miss a beat, opting instead to spin Mara away from him before he changed the dance step entirely. _(Fine...you want to play games...) _He was waiting for his friend to become flustered as his hands crept lower onto her hips, as the dance steps became faster and harder, slowly beginning to imitate another more primal dance that he was more than familiar with. It didn't happen.

Yahiko and Tsubame watched as the couple moved silently across the dojo, neither partner making any sound as their bodies twisted and shifted against one and other. Yahiko almost felt as though he was intruding on a private, even intimate encounter until he looked up at Mara's face. _(She and Shinomori would make a perfect pair) _The woman's eyes were icy and remote as she moved, her expression at best spoke of a detached amusement as she regarded her partner. Sano's face almost mirrored her own, except for his eyes which had darkened with emotions that the younger man didn't even want to hazard a guess at. _(He's as surprised as I am....) _

Edward grinned. "You didn't think she had it in her." Yahiko shook his head as Mara leaned back into a dip, her dark hair nearly brushing the floor. "That, my young friend is the true power of the fairer sex. They always keep you guessing." He smiled at Tsubame's gentle questioning face. "Yes, little one, even you will learn to use your mind and body to the greatest possible advantage before too long." He watched Mara as she moved, his eyes roving over the woman's lithe, strong body, finally resting on her perfectly composed, albeit frosty expression. _(This one is exceptional.....I wonder if Sanosuke has any idea what type of creature he's dealing with)_

Sano was at the moment considering the exact same thing. He had been amused when Mara had accepted his challenge, now.....he internally groaned as the woman's hip brushed seductively across his thighs, the action threatening to reveal just what an impact her behavior was having on him. He looked down at her and his eyes narrowed at the impish expression in her grey eyes. _(You did that on purpose!)_

"Don't do that again." Sano gasped quietly.

Mara brushed up against him again, this time lingering the contact. "Don't do what?"

"You know damn well "what" I'm talking about." Sano growled between the smile he had plastered on his face. 

"What's wrong Sano? Can't handle it?" Mara whispered as she leaned closer to him, her lips inches from his own. "Don't tell me that an uptight, well trained, perfect little lady, is making you uncomfortable." She pulled away and smiled, her features now taking on an almost glacial expression. 

Kenshin was at that very moment walking into the courtyard, bucket of Tofu in hand. He looked up and smiled as Kaoru and Kenji walked out of the house towards him. 

"How was your day dear?" He leaned over and kissed his wife, careful to avoid his son's hands, hands that were fond of pulling his hair. Kenji tried anyway and managed to snag a few of the fiery strands. 

"Mommy's going to let me watch!" Kenji was bouncing up and down in anticipation.

"What are you going to watch?" Kenshin inquired, as he deftly transferred the tofu bucket to Kaoru and placed Kenji on his shoulders.

"Yahiko's smashing toes and Mommy said I could watch." To Kenji, the chance to watch anything being smashed was a rare and wonderful occasion, one that merited serious bouncing. 

Kaoru laughed at her husband's questioning expression. "They're trying to learn a dance. Mara agreed to try and teach them." Kenshin walked to the entrance of the dojo and peered inside for a second, then quickly stepped back, his face going red.

"Kaoru, are you sure this is a dance that they should be learning?" Kenshin peered inside again and gave his wife a rather serious expression. "I don't think that either Tsubame and Yahiko are old enough to be....."He looked back inside and covered his mouth with his hand. "No....they are definitely too young...."

"What are you talking about?" Kaoru muttered until she too took a quick peak inside the dojo. "What on earth?" Kaoru dropped the bucket, which Kenshin thankfully caught at the last second and stormed into the dojo.

"Sagara Sanosuke! What in the name of the greater Gods do you think you're doing?" Kaoru marched over to where the tall man was now standing, his face red with embarrassment. 

"Hold your horses Missy...." He lifted his arms up, hoping to appease the woman's infamous temper before he met the working end of a wooden sword "We were just dancing and....."

"I know what you were doing Sano, and it was most certainly not the waltz." Kaoru put her hands on her hips and waited. "Do you have any idea what Tae would say to me if she knew Tsubame had been exposed to your......indecency?" 

"Hey! Why are you picking on me?" Sano's face was now flushed in annoyance. "She started it!" He pointed to a very composed and contrite looking Mara. Kaoru looked at her friend for a second before she gave in to her urge to twist Sanosuke by the ear.

"I can't believe you would blame this on her!" (Twist, Twist) "I would think you would have learned your lesson.!"

"Owww! Dammit Mara, I need a little backup here!"

"I'm sorry Kaoru." Mara looked away, her eyes radiating with false regret and staged remorse "Yahiko was having problems with the counting, so I asked Sano to help me. He refused unless I took him to dinner and bought him a new set of dice."

"Hey! We shook on that arrangement!" Sano thundered.

Mara sighed and continued. "After a while the men started telling Tsubame that a man should always be in control of the woman, leading her in her actions." This remark caused Kaoru's eye to twitch and both Kenshin and Sano backed carefully away. "So I mentioned that there were dances where the woman took a more assertive role in what happened. I wasn't going to show them or anything, but Sano and his friend started teasing me and telling me that I was uptight..."

"Now, now, Miss Mogensen, you will recall that it was only Sanosuke who made such a thoughtless remark to your person, I on the other hand reminded you that modesty was an admirable trait in a woman." Edward tried to keep a straight face as the tall woman nodded, playing along with him. 

"Yes, I suppose that you were looking out for my best interests." 

"Of course." Edward nodded piously "I am after all, a gentleman."

"If you're a "gentleman" than I'm a horse's...." Sano growled.

"As I was saying.." Mara cleared her throat and continued her "confession". "I'm afraid that I gave into the pressure and tried to teach Sano a basic dance step from South America. I just wanted Tsubame to know that we woman are not the helpless creatures that some men (she directed a rather nasty glace in Sano's direction) think we are."

"Dammit woman, that's not how it happened!" Sano walked over to Mara. "You...you.... acted all shy and then....you didn't....and what about the way that you were....you know.."He glared at her. _(You know exactly what I mean....grinding yourself against me....driving me crazy on purpose!)_

Mara just looked at him with wide, grey eyes. "You know what?" _(Let's see if you have the balls to continue this topic of conversation....)_

Sano blinked. Looked at Mara. Blinked again. _(Stay calm, knocking a woman out is bad.....very bad.....)_

Mara looked at Kaoru and smiled . "I'm sorry that things got out of hand. I promise that it will never happen again." She walked over to Tsubame and helped the younger woman stand. "Did you learn anything today ?"

The look on Tsubame's face as she nodded was almost wicked. "Oh yes, lots and lots." She fluttered her eyelashes at Yahiko and took him by the hand."Come on dear, I think you need to walk me home now." 

"O..okay....sure."Yahiko nodded sheepishly as he was led out the door.

"I'm afraid that I need to get back to the clinic. Edward, would you be a darling and walk me to the street?" 

"It would be an honor, madam." Edward bowed and offered her his elbow. Mara shyly took it and made her way out the door, pausing long enough to wink at Sano. _(That's what you get for calling me uptight...)_

Sano nearly took her out then and there, but remembered that Kenshin and Kaoru weren't too keen on the whole "assault and battery of a female houseguest" thing and decided to wait until he could properly avenge himself on Mara. He simply leaned close to her and whispered. "You are one dead doctor."

Mara smiled. "Bring it on."

  


One Week Later (And Boy.....What A Week It Was!!!)

  


"Kenshin....I know that you made a vow not to kill...." Kaoru took her husband's hand in her own and looked at him with beseeching blue eyes. "But don't you think....just this one time.... that you can make a tiny, little exception to the rule?"

Kenshin looked at his wife....and then seriously considered her proposal for a minute. "I still think that we should make Sano clean this one up."

"You and I both know that he'd probably drop her on her head !" Kaoru shook her head. "No, he's still riled up about the "jacket incident" it's just too dangerous."

Kenshin looked up at the maple tree where the bound and gagged form of Mara Mogensen was kicking for all she was worth. He sighed heavily and started climbing up to where Mara had been bound to the tree. He finally reached the limb where the woman was tied and couldn't help but laugh at the condition the normally meticulous doctor was in. She was covered from head to toe in bird droppings, her hair a rat's nest of tangles and knots. _(I can't believe it....he actually sprinkled birdseed all over her body)_ It was the birds that had given away the location of the missing doctor. He and Kaoru had become suspicious when a huge flock of sparrows started dive bombing the maple tree with startling frequency, that and the way that Sano had been avoiding this area of the courtyard, had led the former assassin to suspect that something was up. _(The something in this case being a someone...)_

Kenshin sighed _(I've been doing that a lot this week)_ and started to untie his wife's friend. He waited until the last to ungag her, knowing that the first remarks out of the woman's mouth would be of a well.... "offensive nature". He was right. Mara sat there and cursed for a good three solid minutes until Kenshin carefully _(Please don't bite me....)_ covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head. 

"Why don't we get you down from here before you continue?" Mara nodded and carefully made her way down the tree, slipping several times on account of the bird poop that covered her shoes. By the time she jumped to the ground she was beyond furious, her normally pale features splotched with color. "That no good, inbred, son of a....." 

"Mara, would you like to go take a bath....it seems that you're....rather....uhh....dirty." Kaoru managed to croak before she and her husband started cackling. She glanced at Kenshin and shook her head 

"Birdseed!"

It was all he could gasp as he leaned against the tree, tears streaming from his face. A part of mind (the nice rurouni) quietly reminded him that a good friend would not laugh at another's misfortune, especially when this woman had a temper nearly as bad as his wife's. Kenshin tried to cover his mouth, but that made the laughter sound all hissy, causing his sweet wife to giggle hysterically. He looked at Mara and shrugged _(Sorry...)_ before he bent over and really let it go.

Mara glared at her "friends" for a moment, then started walking and didn't stop before she came to the river bank. _(I really should just let myself drown....that would save him the trouble....)_ She looked about to see whether or not there were any people around, realized that she didn't care, took a flying leap and jumped in feetfirst. A the cool river water went over her head she closed her eyes and cursed the day that she had ever met one Sagara Sanosuke.

  
  


Atop a quiet hill, a man was saying goodbye. He carefully put the mortal remains in a box, lowered it into the ground, and solemnly started shoveling dirt into the hole. _(I can't believe you're gone....we've been together for so long....people assume that we're inseparable....)_ He paused and wiped a tear away from his eye. _(Why did it have to happen to you.....of all the things I love in this world...it had to be you....you were with me through thick and thin....good times and bad.....and she had to destroy you.....)_ The man sat there, a living embodiment of grief, as he contemplated a life, a terrible shallow existence...so consumed was he in his sorrow, that he failed to look up as a figure approached through the trees.

"Sano!" Yahiko bellowed as he pushed the pine limbs aside. "Where in the hell are you?" He looked over to where his friend was kneeling and swore _(I swear this kook will drive me crazy!) _ "Sano. C'mon, It's time to go." He tugged at his friend's shoulder. "Dammit man, pull yourself together!" He knelt down in front of the tall man and shook him violently. "It's only a damn jacket! You can get another one!"

"Only a jacket?" Sano looked up with tear filled eyes....."Only a jacket?" He shoved Yahiko away. "It was more than that.....it was MY jacket !" He paused and looked fondly at the little mound at the base of the Gingko tree. "I'll never forget you."

"Oh, will you please give it a rest ?" Yahiko muttered as he pulled the tall man away from his "shrine" and down the hillside. _(As much as I hate to admit it, Kaoru's right...this is the only way to put a stop to the madness....)_ The two men reached the dojo just as the sun was setting. Kenshin and Kaoru stood by the gate, each wearing the pre-agreed upon look of sorrow.

"Oh Sano, We're so sorry for what happened. I can't believe that Mara would do something so drastic in retaliation for the little incident at the clinic."

Sano nodded grimly.

"That's why we are going to help you exact the proper revenge on her." Kenshin said quickly, thankful that his red bangs covered his face as he told his first real "whopper" of a lie. "All you need to do is go and wait in the storage shed until she comes home. Leave the rest up to us." He chuckled in what he hoped was an "evil" manner and led his unsuspecting friend to the shed.

"Thanks Kenshin, you're a real pal." Sano patted the smaller man on the back. He slowly entered the dark shed, trying to see where he was going, when he was suddenly shoved from behind and landed face first in Mara's sopping wet lap. __

"Hurry! Lock it !" Kaoru screamed as Kenshin slammed the door shut and Yahiko threw the lock down, trapping the two inside. _(Finally! Some peace and quiet at the Himura household!)_

Sano pounded on the door. "Is this some sort of joke? You can't leave me in here with her, not after what she did!"

Kaoru pounded right back. "Yes we can, you moron! You both are stuck in there until you either kill each other or make things right, do you understand me?" She kicked the door viciously for good measure then grabbed her husband by the gi and dragged him inside before Sano's heartrending pleas got the better of him. 

  


"Now look what you got me into! I hope you're happy with yourself." Sano snarled as he leaned against the locked door. 

Mara's reply was a little hard to understand ."Mffff ....snnnn....hlllp!" She tied to kick Sano but couldn't see where he was. 

"What was that? Oh....wait....You're gagged! Thank the Gods for small blessings!" Sano sat there for a minute then banged his head against the door in frustration. _(I can't believe that they are going to just keep us locked in here......I bet Kenshin will be out in a few minutes...)_

  
  


Three Hours Later

_(I can't believe it!....He's seriously going to leave me in here, with HER for the night! He's got a lot of nerve pulling this , especially after I saved his spindly white butt time and time again )_ He ignored the voice in the back of his mind that rather cattily reminded him that the times he had "saved" his friend were very few and far between. Sano sighed and nudged what he assumed was Mara's leg. "I don't suppose you have anything to eat?"

She didn't respond _(Oh yeah.....the gag thing...I probably should help her off with that)_ "Mara...hey!" He nudged again, waiting for a response. "Doc?" This time the nudge was more like a kick. 

"Mnnnnph!" Sano reached out and tried to figure out what he was touching. _(Let's see....hip...tummy....oops!) _Mara jerked away. (M_oving right past that part.....face...okay...)_He reached around and tried to untie the woman's gag, his effort hampered by the wet mass of curls that were tangled in the knot. He pulled at the mess, wincing as Mara made a noise that sounded like she was in pain.

"Look, your hair's all caught. Sorry!" Sano fumbled around for a few more seconds, until he finally managed to untie the wet strip of linen. He pulled away and waited for the woman next to him to launch into a tirade that would make a Japanese sailor blush.

"Thank you." _(I'm sorry, come again?) _Sano's eyes widened at the gentle response, wondering if Mara was delirious or something. He leaned down and put his hand on what he hoped was her forehead. _(Dammit babe, you're freezing...)_ He muttered a curse and tried to help the woman sit up, forgetting that he had , only hours before, sworn on the grave of his dearly departed jacket that he would never have anything to do with her again. 

Mara leaned against Sano and tried not to move. She was still trying to get over the whole "being tied up in the maple tree and attacked by birds" incident, and wasn't quite sure why Sano was suddenly being so nice to her. She closed her eyes when he helped her sit up then hissed in pain as he touched her raw, sore wrists and tried to pull away.

"Would you please just hold still for a second?" Sano whispered as his finger brushed over the badly bruised and broken skin. "Is...this from the rope ?"

"What do you think?" Mara snapped as she scooted as far away from his as possible."You tied the damn knots."

_(I didn't mean to hurt you.....) _He frowned and sat back, wondering if an apology was in order and if it would do any good to try and settle things with his "former" friend. _(No, it'll probably just make things worse....)_ Sanosuke sighed and leaned back against the wall, counting the seconds until someone took pity on him and opened the damn door.

  


"Kenshin." He froze, spare blanket in hand, knowing that he was caught. "Yes, Dear?"

"What are you doing?" Kaoru growled softly in his ear, her lips barely brushing over his warm, sensitive skin. She smiled slyly as her husband's reaction to her, _(What is it about you and your ears?)_ amused that he was (for the third time) trying to sneak "supplies" to the exiles in the storage shed _(You are the most gentle, wonderful man....)_

"I...I...was..." Kenshin closed his eyes as she slid one arm around his waist and started placing hot, open mouthed kisses along the side of his neck. _(What was I doing?) _He sighed as her hand darted inside his Yukata, her slender, strong fingers caressing the scar tissue that ran along his left side, then went lower....Kenshin dropped the blanket.

"Mara ?" Sano groaned in annoyance as another thud echoed through the dusty storage shed. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Mara muttered as she felt through the contents of another container. _(I'm freezing my ass off...that's what I'm doing!)_ She grinned as her hand finally found something that felt like fabric.

"I wouldn't know....on account of it being pitch dark in here!" Sano managed before he sneezed again. "Would you knock it off.....Achoo!......the dust is....Achoo!.....driving me crazy!" He sniffed, eyes watering from allergies, then groaned as another round of sneezing commenced. _(Why me? What did I do in my last life to warrant this type of punishment?) _He was right in the middle of a sneeze, when something very cold and wet hit him squarely between the eyes. 

"Shit!" Sano snarled as he tried to get away from what ever it was that Mara had thrown at him. "Knock it off!" He was about to chuck the soggy item back at where he assumed Mara was when he realized what was in his hand.

"Mara."

"What?" He could hear the sound of wet clothing being peeled off, landing on the floor with a plop. _(Sagara, now is the time when a smart man stays quiet....)_

"Is....is this your shirt?" _(I never listen to myself)_

"No, It's Kenshin's! Of course it's my shirt!" Mara's voice still sounded icy.

"Why?" Sano stopped before the rest of the question came out. _(Why are you stripping in the middle of a storage shed with me sitting here ?)_

"Your allergies...wipe your face with the shirt...it should help." Mara muttered as she tried to get dressed in what she assumed was a worn out kimono._(How typical.....it's too small....) _

Sano looked into the dark void for a second, then gingerly put the wet cloth to his face, sighing with relief as the cold fabric eased the sting from his eyes and nose, allowing him to breathe easier in the dusty room.

"Thanks....this helps." he mumbled 

"Yeah, sure." Mara gasped as her fingers groped at the bottom of the container, looking for something to tie the kimono with. "No problem" _(Ah-ha!)_ She grabbed what she thought was a piece of fabric, and nearly had a heart attack when something under it moved.....then squeaked.

  


"Oh Kaoru....." Kenshin moaned as he slowly started to untie the sash around his wife's slender waist. "I've been waiting for this......wanting this so badly...." He tilted his head and kissed her passionately as his hands began to wander underneath the fabric of her robe. _(You're so beautiful.....I've almost forgotten what an incredible body you have....) _Even with the passage of time, and the birth of a child, her figure was not the soft, pliant shape that was favored by fashion....it was the body of a warrior, toned and muscular. As Kenshin ran his hands gently up her taunt stomach, he paused for a second, his violet gaze becoming almost haunted as he silently lamented the loss of their little one. Kaoru reached up and tenderly cupped his scarred cheek _(I know.....) _before she drew him down against her warm body, soothing the lingering hurt with gentle kisses, banishing her husband's guilt with the sure and steady pressure of her hands as she caressed his chest, torso and back. _(I'm here......I'll always be here for you.....) _ Kenshin closed his eyes as he ran his fingers through her dark, perfumed tresses, savoring the delicate scent of Jasmine coupled with the musky undertones that were uniquely her own._(I'm home...you...are home....forever)_ This was the magic of the woman lying in his arms, the ability to drive away pain, guilt, remorse and sorrow with a mere touch, the hint of a smile. _(I'll never understand what I did to deserve you....)_

Kaoru moaned, her finger tips digging into the tight muscles of his shoulders as she savored the feather light caresses of Kenshin's kisses as they made a trail from her mouth....down the side of her neck, pausing to gently lathe the hollow of her throat with his tongue....then down...._(Yes !) _Her back arched as Kenshin took one of her nipples in his mouth, suckling gently until the tip was throbbing slowly, an erotic counterpoint to the frantic pace of her heart. _(I've missed this...your touch.....Oh, Kenshin, it's been far too long....) _ She moved under him, grinding her hips against his hard arousal, showing him without words what she needed, no....wanted more than anything. _(Touch me.....love me....)_ She could feel Kenshin's possessive expression as his hand deftly made its way down her belly until it finally rested in between her slightly parted thighs. As he started to touch her, she opened her mouth and....

  


"AUGHH !!!!!"

  


Kenshin blinked and looked down at Kaoru. _(That scream didn't come from my wife.....) _ He shook his head, trying to clear the passion induced haze that was permeating his mind, making normally sharp senses dull with pleasure. The sound of a woman screaming filtered through the bedroom again, the tone desperate. Kaoru sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. _(Oh no!......What have I done?)_ The angry, masculine rumble that followed only confirmed her fear. _(Mara!)_ She looked up at her husband with a horrified expression. _(He's snapped!)_

Kenshin stood up and threw his yukata on, hoping that he had enough time to try and save his wife's friend before she met...well, whatever fate the ex-gangster had in store for her _(I can't believe that he would harm her!) _His eyes narrowed as the screaming began again, this time there was a frantic, hysterical edge to it. 

"Kenshin, Go!" Kaoru urged, as she also tried to dress quickly. Kenshin bolted from the bedroom and nearly collided with Yahiko in the hallway. The young man was bare from the waist up, eyes still hazy with sleep.

"It's that damn jacket!" He muttered as he stumbled out the front door and crashed into Kenshin. "What? Are we too late?"

Kenshin just stood there for a second, then he groaned and covered his eyes. Kaoru whimpered at the sight of her husband's pain, her heart full of guilt for putting her dear friend in such a position. "Oh, Kenshin, I'm sorry....I didn't realize...." 

Mara was clawing at the door wildly, her fingernails scraping bit of wood off in her desperate attempt to escape. "Please! Somebody open the damn door!" She screamed, throwing her bruised shoulder against the unmoving wood, over and over again. 

Sano picked himself up of the floor and shook his head groggily _(I can't believe she knocked me over!)_ He had been minding his own business, wiping his face with Mara's damp shirt, when the doctor had started shrieking hysterically, and without so much as a "watch out!" had run right over the top of him. He stood up and tried to calm the terrified woman, wondering what had managed to transform the normally cool person into a screaming ninny.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" 

"Rats!" She panted as she leaned against the door, eyes wide with fear. "This shed is crawling with vermin!" The sound of a squeak coming from the corner nearly undid her. "Help me please!" She turned back and started beating on the door with all her strength. _(Rats...why did it have to be rats....I could handle a snake, or spider no problem....but rats....ugh!) _

"Mara, Kaoru keeps this place spotless, there are no........Hey!" Sano jumped as he felt something skitter across his foot. He backed up and bumped into Mara. "Something ran across my foot just now!"

"See! She pointed blindly at the dark floor. "I told you!" She kept pounding, hoping that some kind soul would show mercy on her and let her out before she lost her mind._(I'm locked in a small, dark room with a man who hates me and rats crawling all over the place!)_ "This is your fault!" She snarled at the shape next to her (Sano). "If you hadn't tied me up, this wouldn't have happened!"

"My fault!" Sano yelled "You know damn well what caused this...you ruined my jacket!"

"That stupid jacket was already in tatters and you know it....beside, you had it coming!"

"Oh really?" Sanosuke shoved her against the door. _(My jacket didn't have it coming, you little...)_

"Who snuck into the clinic and changed all the labels on my medicinal herbs?" Mara pushed right back, sending the startled man straight into a pile of boxes. "You could have killed someone with that stupid little prank, you....you moron!" She smiled grimly as Sano started sneezing violently from the dust.

"Give it a rest sweetheart!" Sano leaned out and kicked Mara's legs out from under her, chuckling as she landed on what he assumed was her butt. "Nothing happened to your stupid patients which is more...Achoo! Achoo!..than I can say for my lucky dice! I searched the river for three hours...Achoo!....Now I'll never do well at the tables." He groaned as Mara's knee connected with the small of his back. 

"You were never lucky at the tables.....I did you a favor!" She snarled as Sano's elbow jabbed her in the ribs. "Oooff!" 

  


"I can't believe it !" Kaoru whispered in a dazed voice. "All that screaming.....over a stupid rodent?" Yahiko gave her a side glance _(Like you would do any better) _before he staggered back to bed, cursing all the way.__

"Kenshin." She walked over and took her husband by the hand, tugging him in the direction of the house. 

"Kaoru, don't you think we should let them out?" Kenshin paused, as the sounds of screaming intensified "It just seems cruel."

Kaoru looked at him with a hungry expression. "Cruel? You want cruelty, dear man of mine?" She leaned up against her mate and softly whispered "Just think about what you were about to do when we were interrupted." Kenshin's eyes widened as his wife lightly cupped his right buttock and gave it a discreet little squeeze. _(Point Taken!)_ Violet eyes turned golden as he swept Kaoru into his arms and marched back into the house. 

Early the Next Morning

  


_(Hey, how did this get here?)_ Sano lifted up the corner of an old and patched blanket and peered into the dark room. The light that was filtering in was still weak and thready, indicating that dawn was still some time away. _(Just a little longer and I will be outta here!)_ He looked around, wondering where the other occupant of the storage shed was, wondering suddenly why he even cared. __

_(Doc, what are you doing up there?)_ He thought, half amused - half saddened by the sight of Mara sleeping in the far corner perched on top of several boxes. _(She's worse than Kaoru when it comes to rats) _Sano stood up, cursing softly as stiff muscles in his butt and legs protested the sudden movement, and crept over to inspect the teetering rat proof tower. It was still quite dark in the room, but he was able to clearly see that the sleeping woman was in sad shape, freezing cold and barely decent, her too small kimono doing little to hide her body from him. 

Sano stood there for a moment, realizing that he was almost eye level with Mara's still face, frowning at the blue-white pallor of her complexion, the dark circles that had formed under her closed eyes, her pale mouth, slightly open. He carefully reached out and cupped her face, trying to soothe the almost painful expression, praying that she wouldn't wake up. She was ice cold and he could detect the barest hint of a shiver as he tucked a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.

_(Oh Mara.......)_ Sanosuke leaned closer, his warm breath dancing skittishly across the surface of her cold skin. _(I didn't mean for this to happen....)_ He glanced down to her hands and winced at the rope burns that marred the finely boned wrists, the faint bruises on her ankles, echoing that fact that he had, in his attempts to get even, harmed a person that he had grown to care deeply about. _(It was that damn lesson, that's what started this mess....)_ He remembered the expression on her face when he had mocked her about being uptight, pushing her away roughly, letting her stumble, laughing at her. It was no surprise that she had retaliated, and in the most unlikely manner, proving once again that there was more to her than met the eye. _(You tried to apologize to me that night.....)_ Mara had been almost desperate to try and explain that her behavior to him had been inexcusable, the way she had moved against him with her hips and legs, an unworthy reaction on her part. 

He closed his eyes, hating himself for what had happened next, knowing that his response had been fueled by a nasty combination of alcohol and a very sharp lecture from Kaoru. _(She told me that I was the last thing you needed....that you deserved better....) _Still in pain from the remarks, he had hurled the worst sorts of insults at his friend, insinuating that she was nothing more than a slut that used her body to get what she wanted from men, a tease, a lying manipulative bitch. _(Kaoru was right....you do deserve better) _

By the time he was sober, it was too late to try and apologize. Mara had become icy and silent, unwilling to stay in the same room with him, let alone try and work things out. The week had progressed, taunts and pranks had become more and more malicious until he had, when he realized that she had changed the symbol on his jacket to say "STUPID" instead of "wicked", roughly hauled her up the maple tree, tied her up and left her to the mercy of the birds and the weather. Sano looked at her poor wrists again and groaned. _(Once again, I've fucked up.....there's no way in hell Mara will ever want anything to do with me again....not after what I called her, after I hurt her...) _ He was about to move away when he realized that Mara was shivering violently in the predawn chill, her features taking on an almost unhealthy pallor.

_(Dammit babe....you're gonna get sick!) _For a moment, Sanosuke hesitated.....then carefully picked the sleeping woman up, cradling her trembling body next to his warmer one. She felt so thin....so light....so....fragile in his arms, her milk white complexion contrasting sharply against the light copper hue of his skin. He pulled her closer without thinking, hissing softly as her ice cold cheek pressed up against the crook of his neck. _(And it's all my fault...) _Taking care not to wake her, Sano carefully made his way back to where his discarded blanket lay. He started to kneel...then froze when he realized that Mara had awoken and was peering up at him with her unreadable dark grey eyes. 

"I...you...umm." He swallowed tightly, anticipating a scathing rebuke for being so forward. "You were cold and I..." Her response nearly floored him.

"Oh Sanosuke, I'm so sorry." __

Sano looked at Mara with a stunned expression, his confusion growing as he detected the tell tale shimmer of tears in the woman's eyes. _(What are you talking about?...I'm the one who should be apologizing!) _

"Don't....." He muttered as he carefully set her down. "You don't need to say anything." 

"I didn't know...." Mara's forced her apology past chattering teeth. "I didn't know it meant so much to you. I promise I'll replace your jacket." She pulled away slightly and gazed up at the dark haired man, mistaking his surprise for disdain. "I don't want to lose you over this..." 

"Lose me?" Sano's eyes widened with disbelief. "What in the hell are you talking about?" 

"Your jacket meant the world to you and I had to go ruin it...." Her apology was cut short.

"You mean more to me than that jacket ever will." Sanosuke's voice was gruff. He looked away for a moment, struggling to contain the unspoken sentiment

"But you said that..." Mara choked back a sob, remembering the way he'd shouted at her...how angry his hands and face had seemed as he'd hauled her up the tree. _(That you'd never forgive me...that we were no longer friends...that I wasn't a woman you could trust) _She closed her eyes as she recalled the hurt, betrayed expression on his face when she had placed all the blame on him, and her own feelings of mortification when she overheard Kaoru lecturing Sano for being too forward, surprised that her friend had such a low opinion of the man when it came to his interaction with women.__

"I was angry." Sano reached down and covered Mara's thin hand with his own. "And said some terrible things to you....things that I wish I could take back." His mouth tightened into an thin, bitter line. "You didn't deserve to go through that....." He brushed his fingers over the rope burns, wincing as he felt the broken flesh. "....you didn't deserve to go through this either. I hope that you'll find a way to forgive me for being such an ass." Sano released her hand and tried to step away, then gasped when she threw her arms around him in a fierce embrace.

"Only if you can forgive me for what I did to your jacket." Mara whispered, hoping that Sanosuke couldn't see the bright red flush that was creeping up her neck. 

"Now, that's a tough one...." Sano groused, still mildly annoyed the he had unwittingly walked around town all day with "STUPID" emblazoned on his back. He sat down on the ground, taking Mara with him. "I suppose." His face broke into a crafty smile. "As long as you give me back my lucky dice." __

"I'll give you back your dice as soon as you help me re-label all my herbs at the clinic." Mara laughed.

"We have a deal then." Sanosuke impulsively hugged Mara, beyond thankful that they had somehow managed to patch things up between them, stunned that the restrained woman allowed him to touch her in such a manner....let alone sit on his lap. They sat there for a minute, until Mara started shivering again. She looked down at the kimono she was wearing and nearly fainted from embarrassment, now seeing in the dim light, just how revealing it was. _ (Oh my freaking hell !) _ Mara quickly crossed her arms while trying to pull the thin fabric over her knees, avoiding eye contact with the man on whose lap she was currently sitting like her life depended on it. 

Sano looked away from her as she tried to cover herself, aware that she was embarrassed, not wanting to add to her discomfort by staring at the woman's long shapely legs or the way that the opening of the kimono barely covered her chest, revealing a generous amount of cleavage, the dark fabric highlighting her pale.....absolutely.....perfect..... breasts..... _(Stop it!) _Sano took a deep breath and reached for the discarded blanket. _(Gods! What am I doing?) _ He carefully wrapped the threadbare fabric around her, hoping that she hadn't noticed his reaction to her, berating himself for his lack of control. (_After the shit I pulled, I'm lucky that she wants anything to do with me!) _

"Thank you." Mara mumbled, thankful for the warmth of the blanket and the modesty that the thin, worn fabric afforded her. She glanced up at Sano and was dismayed to see an uncomfortable, almost painful expression on the man's face. _(Is he still upset.....?) _She tentatively touched his arm and realized that it was not much warmer than her own _(Perhaps he's cold?) _

"Here, we can share." She started to wriggle out of the blanket, before strong hands clamped down on her, effectively trapping her. 

"No!" The words came out more harshly than he intended. Sano shook his head and tried to lighten the tone of his voice. "You're freezing....just stay put." He looked away and wondered what would happen if he just tore the door down. _(Anything's better than sitting here with a half naked woman on my lap...) _

  


"Hey!" 

Kenshin sighed and rolled over, spooning up against the warmth of Kaoru's back. _(Go away......I'm still sleeping....)_ He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close, and savored the silky texture of her long, dark hair as it slid across his face, the motion both comforting and arousing at the same time. A small nagging voice in the depths of his still sleepy mind whispered that there was something that needed to be taken care of, but Kenshin for the life of him, couldn't remember what it was. Kaoru turned, seeking a closer embrace from her husband, finding it as she snuggled against Kenshin's chest, a small contented smile settling on her lips as she drifted deeper into sleep. 

"Kenshin!" 

A rapping sound tore through the gauzy silence, causing his eyes to open, albeit regretfully. He looked up and realized that it was midmorning. _(I've slept in!) _Kenshin carefully slid out of Kaoru's embrace, kissing her a couple of times for good measure, then quickly dressed. _(I need to get the fire going.....then there's breakfast....I wonder what Kenji is up too....it's far too quiet....)_ He stopped, eyes widening as he remembered just why it was so quiet this morning. _(Oh, they're going to kill us!) _

"Kenshin!" He could hear Yahiko's voice in the hallway. For some reason it sounded strained. " I need your help.....it's .....oh shit!....just hurry!" He opened the door and nodded, noting the strange almost embarrassed expression on the younger man's face.

"They must just be miserable! It was cold last night." He shook his head, regretting that he had not managed to sneak a blanket to them after all. _(I was "distracted") _ A well satisfied smile danced across his lips as his mind replayed the end results of said distraction. 

"Uh...I think they've managed to find a way to keep warm." Yahiko muttered _(That's the understatement of the year) _He led the older man out to the courtyard and paused, wondering what the best way to handle this new development was.

"Yahiko." Kenshin's voice was no more than a whisper. "Is....is the shed....moving?" 

He nodded, face grim. "Rocking is more like it." 

Kenshin stared, white faced. _(What am I supposed to do?) _ He looked back towards the house and prayed like crazy that his darling wife would keep on sleeping until he could....well.....settle things down. _(Kaoru was so positive that they'd work things out....)_ He grimaced as sounds drifted across the courtyard. _(I'm pretty sure this isn't what she had in mind)_

"Well?" Yahiko nudged him. "Do something!" 

"Do what?" Kenshin hissed "It's not like I can go just open the door!" The two men gingerly tip toed closer to the building, faces crimson as the moaning and shouting grew more distinct. 

"Sweetheart, be patient.....these things just can't be rushed!"

"Come on....give it to me it!" Yahiko covered his mouth, mortified that a woman could be so...vocal.

"I can't!.....I'm not ready yet....hold on.....!" The shed rocked violently.

"Wow Sano, I'm impressed...you really know how to move!" Mara sounded breathless.

Kenshin looked away, trying to control a nose bleed. 

"I know....it's a gift !" The man's voice was smug.

Kenshin took a deep breath, and summoning all the courage he had, knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Mara's voice rang out, sweetly.

"Go away, can't you tell we're busy?" A masculine tone grumbled, before the "noises" started up again, this time in earnest.

"Um.....perhaps...yes...perhaps you two could....um.....stop for a moment?" Kenshin ventured.

"Geez, at least go get a room somewhere!" Yahiko snipped. Kenshin nodded his head in agreement. _(Preferably before my wife wakes up and kills you both...)_

"Why don't you join us?" Mara called out, her voice low and sensual sounding. "I'm sure we could improvise." Sano chimed in "Hey! Good idea...I've never tried it that way before!"

"The more the merrier!" Mara gasped as the sound of something slamming up against the wall reverberated. "Where's Kaoru? I know she'd get a kick out of this!"

"Now wait a minute!" Kenshin yelled, eyes glowing _(Don't even go there!)_

"Eww!" Yahiko shook his head, trying to dispel the rather creative images in his mind.

  


"Stand back." It was the voice of doom. Kenshin and Yahiko turned slowly, knowing that the two occupants of the storage building had mere moments to live. Kayima Kaoru , bokken in hand, advanced on the locked door, a vision of impending destruction. She lifted the lock and raised her weapon, eyes narrowing in fury. _(I'll teach you to mess around in my storage room....)_

She flung the door open and leapt inside, her battle cry ringing out.....then stopping abruptly....then......much to the surprise and relief of her husband.....changing into laughter. Kenshin scrambled into the room, not sure what he would find, thankful that carnage had been avoided.

Sano was crouching in front of a make shift goal. Mara, who was for some reason wrapped up in a blanket, had what looked like a ball (actually it was her tunic tied up to look like a ball) next to her. She smiled wickedly and kicked it, laughing as Sano made a flying leap, and tried to block it. He barely missed it as he slammed into the floor, causing the poor building to rock from the impact.

"Ha! Score's tied." Mara crowed, jumping up and down.

"No fair!" Sano chucked the ball at her, his deep voice warm with humor. "They distracted me." He pointed at Kenshin and Kaoru, then stood up, brushing his backside with his hands. He walked over and put his arm around the blanket wearing woman, pleased that their plan had worked so well.

"I think that we were the ones distracting our "friends". Mara winked at Yahiko and laughed. "Am I right?"

"You perverts!" Yahiko screeched as he tried to tackle Sano, wrestling the ball away from him. "Kenshin nearly had a heart attack with all the racket you were making." 

Kenshin stammered something unintelligible then turned to his wife. "Good morning dear." Kaoru smiled and took his hand in hers. "Good morning." Kenshin embraced her, thankful that the day was off to such a good start. 

"Well...." Kaoru proudly looked at the tall couple "It looks like my plan worked perfectly." _(And Kenshin was so concerned....ha!)_

"Oh, yes." Mara nodded as she and Sano carefully edged towards the door. "What would we do without such wonderful caring friends?" _(You all are dead meat...)_

"You guys are the best!" Sano agreed, a wide smile lighting up his face _(Just a few more feet.....)_

"I just hope you two learned your lesson." Kaoru loftily added, so content in her triumph that she failed to notice the unholy gleam that danced in Mara's eye as the woman nodded.

"I think we did." Mara turned to Sano and nodded _(Now!) _The two of them leaped outside, slamming the door behind them, locking it securely. "Don't you agree?" She turned to Sano, her smile radiant as the whines, screams and protestations got louder from the storage room's new occupants.

Sano nodded as he gazed at his friend. She was dusty, had the beginnings of a black eye and was currently wrapped up in an orange threadbare blanket, bare legs sticking out, her hair a mass of tangles. "I do." 

______________________________________________________________________________

I DON'T OWN KENSHIN.....PLEASE DON'T SUE (There isn't anything to sue for...*snif*)

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COMING UP IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.....

Across a snow white expanse, two warring armies stand poised for battle. Their commanders, stern and tall pace behind the conscripts, each striving to overcome his adversary with as little carnage as possible. This is war...plain and simple, the usual contrivances blasted away by a bleak, late winter blizzard that has draped the landscape in a colorless blanket and chills both the hands and minds of the battle weary combatants.

"Ready..." The first commander shouts, his deep voice ringing out over the barren ground. His men crouch low...their hands tightening on their weapons of war. "Aim..." Soldiers on both sides wince with brutal anticipation. "FIRE!" With primal screams, the invaders rise up as a whole and tear toward the defending army's embattled fortress, their battle cries congealing the blood of their adversaries. 

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RESPONSES TO INDIVIDUAL REVIEWERS....(THANKS AGAIN!)

Carter - Thanks for taking the time to read this story. I really appreciate it!

Midori - I'm glad that you liked the top scene and found the WTJC reference. Thanks for reviewing! (I'm so excited to work with you on the WR!!!) YOU ARE WONDERFUL!

Kitsune - Lemons? Hmmm....We'll have to see. I'm afraid that I don't have enough experience under my belt. (I would hate to write something that leaves you all in therapy)

Fujifunmum - Thanks for all the reviews! (And letting me know that the chapters were switched) I'm flattered that you like my writing style. And yes, you are right...the entire Kenshingumi DOES need group therapy. (This chapter hopefully gives them a chance to hang loose)

Benjamindover - *hugs* Thanks for the review. You are way too kind. I can't wait to see another chapter of Incognito! I appreciate your support!

Ice Angel - I'm glad that you like the plot. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Mad Melma - Well...Did you like the make out scene I did for you? *cringes*

Camila- Yes, They will eventually meet.

Imbrium - *High fives* What would I ever do without you? Not only are you a super writer, reviewer and cheerleader...but a very good friend. Thanks for all your support!

Firuze - *Hands a Garcia hardbound poetry book to her friend* Thank you for everything. You are a soul sister and an example to me. I'm glad that you appreciate the more "mature" characterizations. 

Marstanuki - Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciate it.

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	7. The Ties That Bind Part One

*WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS ADULT SITUATIONS AND LANGUAGE*

AS TIME GOES BY 

Chapter Seven

The Ties That Bind

_(I would like to thank Midori, Firuze and Benjamindover for their thoughts, comments and friendship...You guys are wonderful...Thanks...)_

**This chapter takes place approximately five months after chapter 6. **

  


_(What a long day.....)_ Mara leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. _(No...make that a long week....) _It was the dead of winter...and uncommonly cold. She shivered as a thin stream of icy air whispered under the clinic door, filling the nearly abandoned building with an the half hissed moans and whispers of a blizzard that had been threatening for hours. Tired grey eyes peered listlessly out at the darkening sky, seeing within the dull, bloated snow clouds the promise of a freezing night and a case load of sick patients the next morning.

_ (I used to love this time of year...) _For Mara, the seasons were no longer a benign transformation, but a dangerous passage that replaced one type of illness with another. The winter brought pneumonia and typhus, the spring heralded the onset of cholera and pertussis, summer simmered with dysentery and yellow fever and fall was always announced with an influx of typhoid and the deadly threat of smallpox._(...Now I break into a sweat at the first sign on snowfall...)_

Her pale mouth twisted into a sardonic smirk...then suddenly brightened into a rare brilliant smile as she picked up a deep, melodic counter melody that ran against the wailing wind. _(He's here...) _Mara mindlessly ran her fingers through her curly hair, hoping that she didn't look too terrible after going without sleep for almost two days in a row...then realized what she was doing and blushed slightly as the clinic door opened and Sanosuke stepped inside. _(Good grief...get a hold of yourself...)_

"Hey babe! You bout done for the day?" Sano called out as he sauntered into Mara's office. "We've got to hustle our asses back to the dojo before all hell breaks loose." His dark brown eyes surveyed the doctor's cluttered desk, lingering first on a ridiculously high pile of unfinished paperwork...then fixing darkly on Mara's pale face. _(Enough is enough....I'm taking you home...) _

"So...how did your day go?" He walked over to the desk and leaned over her shoulder, noticing the fragrant smell of herbs that somehow always managed to linger in her curly hair. _(I'll never figure out how she manages to smell so nice...it must be a woman thing...) _He inhaled the delicate scent, then took a step back, fighting against the sudden impulse to run his fingers through the mass of curls.__

"Pretty well considering we're in the middle of an influenza epidemic." Mara smiled wearily as she closed the still unfinished ledger. "Hopefully, the strains won't mutate and really make things interesting for me." She frowned and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You know, I really have a hunch that this last batch has a recombinant RNA sequencing variance." 

"Yeah...." Sano nodded. _(I wish I knew what she was talking about...)_ "You've got to hate it when that happens." Unlike Megumi, Mara insisted on talking to him like he was a well educated man instead of a street thug. While this had certain advantages, there were more times than not that he found himself in very deep conversations about things that he barely had a grasp on. _(She just assumes that I'm smart enough to keep up with her....)_ He rubbed the back of his head and listened carefully as Mara talked about the strange unseen things that she battled against....the bacterium she loathed, the viruses that took so many from this world, as well as the parasites that lived with the poor and destitute.

"How's that experiment going?" Sanosuke asked as he playfully tried to scatter Mara's paperwork. "You still hell bent on messing around with moldy bread?" 

"Of course I am." Mara muttered, swatting at his large hands. "How else am I going to get a nice robust penicillin culture?" 

"Oh, I don't know..." Sano grinned and snatched the patient ledger from the flustered woman. "Perhaps you could swipe a sample of Kaoru's miso soup?" 

"I'm afraid it's a bit strong for what I have in mind." Mara laughed, jabbing Sano in the stomach with a sharp elbow. "Though I'm tempted to pour a bowl down your throat if you don't quit teasing me."

"Now, now...there's no need for such drastic measures." Sanosuke tossed the ledger back and gave his friend a saucy wink. "Besides, you love it when I give you a hard time." His full mouth settled into a soft smile as he watched Mara's pale cheeks erupt with color, surprised that her shy reaction to him was so damn appealing. He was half tempted to continue the verbal banter, just to see if he could make her blush again...then quickly reconsidered as he watched the woman gain control of her emotions, her vulnerability dissolving into the calm and dispassionate expression that she normally favored. _(I'm pushing things with her again.....Better stop while I'm ahead....)_

"Yahiko mentioned something about Kaoru fixing me a surprise tonight." Sano walked over to the coat rack and grabbed Mara's jacket. "I don't suppose you know what he might be talking about."

"I have no idea." Mara forced a placid expression. _(Dammit! That was supposed to be a surprise...)_ Hoping to keep her irritation concealed, she quickly shoved several files into a satchel and looked around for the keys to the clinic. _(That boy is one dead turkey...)_

"Hey, you all right?" Sano asked quietly.

"Just a little tired." Mara sighed as the ex gangster helped her on with her jacket. "You know, if you're not careful you just might develop a reputation as a gentleman."

"Oh, I don't think we need to worry about that." Sano chuckled. "I'm just trying to get on your good side so I can swipe some more of your German poetry books." _(Who would have thought that I'd get such a kick out of reading Goethe ?)_ As he slid the jacket over her thin shoulders, he couldn't help but notice that her collarbone was jutting out, easily felt under the very worn fabric of her tunic._ (Dammit Mara, you've got to quit pushing yourself like this...)_ Sano closed his eyes and prayed for patience. _(...or you're going to end up like Dr. Genzai....)_ A mental image of Mara sick and failing flashed through his mind, causing him to instinctively tighten his grip on her shoulders. _(Gods...I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you...)_

"Sano, what's wrong?" Mara asked, aware of the man's silent reaction. She uneasily fisted the fabric of her skirt and tried to quell the icy stab of panic that tore through her frame. _(I've made him angry.....)_

"It's...nothing, don't worry about it." He managed to mutter as he dropped his hands and walked towards the entrance of the clinic. _( She's a grown woman.....I have no right to tell her how to live her life....)_

"Please don't be upset with me." Mara's voice was unusually tremulous. "I'm doing the best I can." 

Sano turned and stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. " I'm not mad at you Mara." He took a hesitant step towards his friend, then froze when he caught a look akin to fear blossom in her grey eyes. _(What in the hell is going on?) _Sano held out his hands, relying more on instinct rather than common sense. "I'm just worried about you...okay?" 

Mara nodded, her gaze locked on a loose floorboard. "As soon as things settle down I'll make it up to you." Her grip tightened on her skirt. "I promise." 

"Just promise me that you'll take it easier." Sano said, carefully drawing her against him in a gentle embrace. _(...And that you'll never look at me like I'm going to hurt you...) _ He closed his eyes and just held her for a moment, savoring the closeness, wondering what in the name of the Gods had happened to make her so frightened of displeasing a man. _(By damn, if I find out that anyone has laid a finger on you in anger....) _White hot fury bubbled up within him at the mere thought of Mara being abused. _(I'll rip his balls off and feed them to him....) _For several minutes he simply held her, finding that he too needed the reassurance that everything was all right....that the woman in his arms was no longer upset. _(I'd rather die that put you in harm's way...) _

_ (What did I ever do to deserve a friend like this ?) _Mara relaxed against the tall man and allowed herself to savor the sensation of being held and protected. Sanosuke was a walking contradiction in terms, a comforting mixture of tenderness and uncommon strength....his gruff manners and street hardened demeanor hiding a compassionate sprit and a bright eager mind._ (He has made this existence bearable....)_ She risked a quick glance up at her friend, seeing in his handsome face the unspoken worry and kindness that caused her stomach to clench and her heart to sing._ ( How I wish things were different...) _Mara drew in a shaky breath, forcing her mind to stop imagining the impossible. _(..but they're not...I have no right to this man....no right at all...) _Her face was a study in regret as she pulled away.

"We'd better get going before the blizzard hits."

"Yeah." Sano nodded reluctantly, seeing in Mara's bleak face an echo of his own unvoiced frustration. _(Before we both do something or say something that we'll both regret...) _He opened the clinic door and without a backwards glance walked out into the bitterly cold night.

  


Twenty Minutes Later

Sanosuke clenched his teeth as a furious blast of wind tore down the street, the icy teeth ripping at his exposed skin and taking his breath away. _(Good thing we're almost home....)_ He felt Mara stumble behind him and tried to position his body so that he would take the full brunt of the wind. _(She's three steps shy of falling asleep...)_ The storm had finally been unleashed, transforming the calm winter night into a distorted snow scape that had every living thing scrambling for shelter. 

Mara groaned and hugged herself tightly in a feeble attempt to stay warm. Her eyes teared up as air born ice crystals scoured her face and hands, the painful sensation at odds with the surreal beauty of the blizzard. The sky was a grey churning mass of ice and snow, the wind a keening adversary that froze bones and muscles. She staggered forward, forcing her exhausted legs to take one unsteady step after another. _(We'll be home soon....)_ Mara smiled slightly, the anticipation taking an edge off of her discomfort. _(I hope that Sano will like his surprise...)_ __

"Here we are." Sano grinned with relief as he pushed open the entrance to the courtyard. "Let's get you inside and warmed up." He grabbed Mara's hand and half dragged the shivering woman towards the brightly lit house. "If we're lucky, Kaoru saved us some dinner." _(Gods, I hope so.....I'm starving.....)_ Sano's frowned as he slid open the door, then paused and peered into the empty room...his sharp ears making out the hint of light footfalls coming down the hallway. _(Looks like the little hellcat is still up....)_

"Surprise!" Kenji screamed, unable to keep quiet any longer. "Happy Birthday!" The six year old bounded over to the startled man and gave his leg an enthusiastic bear hug. 

"What?" Sano looked down at the small child, then back up as Tsubame, Yahiko, Kenshin and Kaoru emerged from the hallway holding several brightly wrapped packages. "What...are you guys doing?" 

"Celebrating your birthday." Mara whispered, her tired face alight. "We thought it was high time that you did it properly." She laughed at Sano's slack jawed expression and shrugged. "I hope you don't mind."

"You sneaky little woman." Sano reached over and tousled Mara's curly hair. "I'm going to get you back for this." He quickly helped her take off her ice coated jacket, still stunned that she had taken the time to help plan something like this for him. 

"Guess what?" Kenji tugged at Sanosuke's pant legs. " Momma made you a treat!"

"Really?" Sano crouched down so that he was eye level with the boy. "What sort of treat?"

"Your favorite western meal." Kaoru proudly beamed. "Chicken and dumplings. I even added some personal touches to the recipe so that it will taste extra good!"

"No kidding?" Sano swallowed reflexively and remembered the last time that Kaoru's "personal touches" had given him a case of indigestion that had lasted for three days.

"Kaoru has worked very hard on this meal." Kenshin gave his friend a look that spoke volumes. "I'm sure that we will all appreciate the effort." __

Mara nodded, determined to keep a positive mental attitude. "It's going to be delicious!" She caught Kaoru by the arm and bounded into the kitchen to get the food. 

"Just what sort of personal touches are we talking about?" Sano hissed in Yahiko's ear. 

"The usual." The teenager sighed in resignation. "Ya know, it's a good thing one of us actually snagged a woman that knows how to cook."

"Mara can cook!" Sano sputtered indignantly. "She just cooks stuff like cough syrup and mustard poultices."

"Sounds delicious." Yahiko snorted. 

"That's enough of that." Kenshin whispered, eager to keep his beloved wife's feelings from being hurt. "I don't care what the food tastes like...just eat it and smile." His eyes flashed amber for a second, prompting the other men to nod sheepishly. _(Honestly, it's like having two more children to manage...)_ "Besides, it's the thought that counts." Kenshin's face paled as an acrid aroma wafted from the kitchen, the scorched scent causing his eyes to water. 

_(I'll remember that when I'm puking my guts out....)_ Sano sat down and nervously awaited the presentation of the food. _(Still, he does have a point....she did her best....)_ His stomach lurched unsteadily as more smells began to assault his senses. 

"Dinner is served!" Kaoru proudly set the "chicken and dumplings" on the table. 

_(Dear Gods above and below....)_ Sano peered into the bowl and tried not to gag. Instead of flaky bread dumplings swimming in rich chicken stew, a semi-transparent grey mass that was flecked with what he hoped were vegetables sat ready to be sampled. He gingerly poked at what he assumed was a piece of chicken, his eyes widening in horror.

"Is...is this carp?" 

"Why yes." Kaoru nodded in between bites. "I thought that it would taste better than boring old chicken." She smiled, savoring the delightful taste. "What do you think of the tofu dumplings?"

"Interesting texture." Mara croaked as a slimy mouthful slid down her throat. __

"Look Daddy !" Kenji poked his dinner with his chopsticks, delighted that his mother had come up with another exciting meal."It jiggles!" He grinned over at his father (who was hellbent on smiling despite an attack of heartburn) "Mommy makes such funny food!" 

The meal from hell mercilessly continued, each dish taking the diners to a new level of gastrointestinal discomfort. There was the greenish black baklava (made from sea weed) a spicy rendition of glazed carrots (turnips served in wasabi)_, _and a blackened mass that looked suspiciously like another ill fated carp (Kaoru's interpretation of Yankee pot roast). 

_(What a success!)_ Kaoru's eyes glistened with happiness as she watched her guests wolf down the meal without a word of complaint, their faces set in wide cheery grins. _(I'm going to have to do this again....)_ She smiled and generously offered Sanosuke another helping of carp and dumplings. 

"No thanks." Sano shook his head frantically, praying that he could keep the first helping down for a few more minutes. "I'm stuffed."

"You better not be." Yahiko grinned wickedly. "There's still plenty of baklava left."

_(I'd rather eat my shoe...) _Sanosuke plastered a smile on his face. "I suppose I could try a bite or two." _(What the hell....I'm going to be dead in a few hours from food poisoning...)_

"I think I'm going to brew us all some tea." Tsubame whispered, her pretty face flushing from barely suppressed nausea . 

"Please make it extra strong." Kenshin called out, wincing as his stomach tried to twist itself into a pretzel. 

Mara set her chopsticks down and tried not to burp. _(I wonder what the daily recommended allowance for carbon is....)_ She glanced down at the charred fish and sighed. _(Whatever it is...I exceeded it...) _

"When do we get to open presents?" Kenji said with barely contained anticipation.

"Right now!" Kaoru smiled indulgently at her son. "And I bet if you ask nicely, Sanosuke will let you help him."

Sano grinned at the six year old. "You think you can handle it?"

"You bet!" Kenji nodded, his eyes dancing merrily as he ran and picked out a parcel.

The next hour was one of the happiest in Sanosuke's life. With Kenji's enthusiastic assistance the presents were soon unwrapped and admired. Kenshin and Kaoru had managed to save enough for a hardbound edition of _Moby Dick_, Yahiko had splurged on a jug of fine grade sake. Tsubame's delicate tastes were evident in the rice paper print she had selected for Sano. Tae's gift (a voucher for a week's worth of free meals) had everyone laughing, Dr. Genzai's subtle hint (matching bath towels with "HIS" and "HERS" embroidered on them) caused Mara to curse like an mal-tempered seaman and Sanosuke to turn three shades of red.

"Look!" Kenji held up the towel marked "HERS". "Dr. Genzai must think Sano needs a bath." 

"And someone to help bathe him!" Yahiko guffawed, enjoying the rare sight of Sagara Sanosuke blushing like a schoolboy. "So, are you planning on trying them out tonight?" Sano snatched the offending towel and shoved it back into the box.

"Somebody better get his mind out of the sewer before he loses his teeth." Mara growled threateningly. _(As soon as Dr. Genzai is feeling better....I'm going to kill him!) _She rolled her eyes when the teenager made a rather sassy comment about her scrubbing Sano's back and promptly poured the contents of her tea cup into the young man's lap. 

"Serves you right you little pervert!" Sano sassed as he tied a triple knot around the bath towel box. _(It's bad enough dealing with Dr. Genzai and his little schemes....)_ He inwardly groaned remembering the day the wily old man had tried stuffing he and Mara headfirst into a closet in the hopes that romance would bloom amid the brooms. _(The last thing we need is a horny teenager with an over active imagination...)_

"Here's the last one!" Kenji said as he tottered over with a large box."Guess who it's from?" 

_(I don't need to....)_ Sanosuke carefully unwrapped the gift, seeing in the perfect angles and precise brown paper folds the handiwork of his meticulous friend. His breath caught in the back of his throat as he lifted up the top box and pushed aside the nearly transparent tissue paper. __

_ (Oh please...let him like it....)_ Mara gnawed nervously at her lower lip, praying that a three hour consultation with Edward Thornton's tailor had been time well spent. Her heart lurched when Sanosuke's face darkened and his cheery smile evaporated. _(He doesn't like the color....) _She swallowed nervously and tried to come up with a decent apology. __

"You shouldn't have done this." Sano's voice was gruff with suppressed emotion. He choked back a sob as he ran his calloused hands over what had to be the most beautiful suit he had ever seen. It was the color of a raven's wing, the perfectly dyed wool blend luxuriously soft under his finger tips. "This is far too fine for a man like me." Sanosuke held up the jacket, his brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears. He had seen clothes like this in Europe, worn by rich and powerful men. _(The type of men she's used to....)_ Turning to Mara, he couldn't help but notice her threadbare linen tunic...the plainness of her clothing contrasting painfully with the perfectly tailored garment he held in his hands. _(The type of men she deserves...)_

"I promised you..." Mara whispered quietly. "..that I'd replace your jacket I ruined..." Her face drained of color when Sano put the jacket back in the box. "If you don't like it I can...."

"It's beautiful." Sano managed, too overcome to do much more than smile. "Thank you."

"Hey! Look at this." Yahiko leaned over and pointed to a small embroidered symbol on the lapel. 

Tsubame peered carefully at the ornately styled kanji for "wicked" then laughed. "Oh, Mara you really should have left well enough alone." She traced the outline with her tiny finger, marveling at the fine silk thread and the quality of the workmanship. "Sanosuke isn't that way anymore."

"No...it's perfect!" Sano said firmly, desperate to reassure his friend that he loved and appreciated her gift. "It's the damn nicest jacket I've ever seen." _(How could you even think I wouldn't be thrilled to get something like this ?) _He sighed inwardly, wondering for the second time that evening at Mara's unusual behavior. 

_(I wonder who did this to her...)_ Kenshin's heart ached with sympathy as he felt the icy doubt in Mara's chi dissolve into warm relief. _(...She has been subjected to gross mistreatment....) _ Compassion surged up within him as he sent out a tendril of mental thought, his mind brushing up against the tall woman with the stormy grey eyes. _(..and far too little kindness...)_ Beneath a lifetime's worth of discipline, he could sense a yawning tear in her spirit, a terrible wound that still was raw and angry. _(She's so frightened....so confused...)_ Kenshin's eyes widened with surprise when Sano stood and embraced the woman. _(...so in love...)_

Other emotions became apparent to his mind as he rode the mental surges that surrounded the couple. From Sanosuke he felt the unmistakable undertones of sexual desire and mental attraction, the instinctive need to hold and protect...a lingering trace of guilt and a hint of despair. Mara's spirit was no less complex in it's intensity...once dormant yearnings warred with self restraint, her spirit radiating budding hope as well as a bitter dose of resignation that left the ex assassin confused and sad. In her he could feel traces of pain, unvoiced adoration, deep compassion and the unnatural aura that only she possessed...an aura that bent the invisible time stream around her like a boulder in a river. _(She's apart from us somehow....)_ Kenshin mentally pulled back as he felt a faint response from Mara's subconscious, an echo of understanding that left him week kneed with sudden comprehension. _(...and is aware of the fact...) _

"Kenshin?" Kaoru took her husband by the hand. "Love...what's wrong?" She followed the line of his eyes and sighed. _(So you finally understand....)_ Her heart sank as she watched Mara's pale face brighten up with a rare burst of color, knowing that the reason for the display was the tall man holding her friend. _(...She's getting too close...)_ Kaoru looked away when Sanosuke leaned over and whispered something in Mara's ear, his deep voice too warm and kind for her liking. _(..They both are....)_

"I..I don't know what to say." Sano said softly. "No one has ever..." He swallowed against the tightness in his throat. "..I've never had..."

"I know." Mara's reply was a mere whisper against his chest. _(That's why I did it....)_ Sanosuke closed his eyes, struggling with emotions he had thought long dead from disuse. _(I shouldn't feel this way about her...)_ His pulse leaped when Mara's hair brushed across his mouth, the thoughtless caress igniting primal desires deep within him. _(But I can't help it...she's so pretty....so kind...)_ Bending his head, he placed a feather light kiss on the woman's forehead, praying that for once, she wouldn't pull away. _(..so utterly unattainable) _

"Eww!" Yahiko scrunched up his face. "Knock it off you two!" The teenager laughed when the two adults pulled away from each other, their faces turning identical shades of red. _(This is great....I finally get to give old rooster head hell...)_ He swaggered over to the pair, unaware that he was skating on very thin ice. 

"So...do you have another present that you are going to give Sano?" Yahiko winked at Mara. "One that requires a bit of privacy?"

"Don't even go there." Sano snapped, his dark eyes flashing dangerously. "...unless you want me to kick your ass into next week." He glared at the younger man, unwilling to engage in any banter that brought Mara's character into question.

"He was just teasing." Mara said in a low calming voice. She took Sanosuke by the hand and pulled him gently towards the door, praying that Yahiko would wisely refrain from any more brilliant comments. _(I'm too tired to deal with this tonight...)_

Yahiko tried to shrug casually. "You really need to lighten up ya know." 

"That's enough." Kenshin's voice cut through the tense atmosphere. "Sanosuke, why don't you see Mara to her room? She's had a very long day and needs her rest." He smiled pleasantly, and turned to Yahiko. "You can help me wash the dishes." 

"But..." 

"Now." Kenshin's smile had an edge to it. _(Before you require medical attention...)_

A Few Minutes Later

  


"I've had it with him!" Sanosuke's growled as he stomped through the snow. "Who in the hell does he think he is talking about you that way?"

"An eighteen year old boy." Mara smiled softly. "Besides, he was right. I do have something I want to give you." She lifted her snow soaked skirt and gingerly made her way up the ice encrusted steps to the dojo. "I've been saving it for a long time."

_( Sweet merciful sake...what am I supposed to do....)_ Sano's mouth went dry. _(I'm sure she doesn't mean....) _He nearly tripped on the steps when Mara opened the door to her room and quietly invited him inside. _(..does she..?) _

"I should warn you ahead of time that I'm not very good at this sort of thing." Mara's rosy cheeks were visible in the dimly lit room. "So don't be too disappointed."

"I won't be." Sano nervously rubbed the back of his head and prayed that his breath didn't stink. _(I can't believe that this is happening....)_ His eyes were as round as rice cakes when Mara sat down on her futon indicated that he sit down beside her. _(...but it is...)_ "Are you sure you really want to do this?" He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. "Cause if you're not..." Sanosuke cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice steady. "...I don't mind waiting."

"Why wait?" Mara wondered as Sanosuke gingerly sat down. "You only have a birthday once a year." She shyly smiled, and reached for an unseen object that she'd hidden under her makeshift pillow. "Now...close your eyes."

"Um...okay." Sano gulped. 

"I hope you like this." Mara hesitated, then moved closer.

"Don't worry." He tried to sound confident. "I'm sure that I...." Sano nearly jumped when he felt something silky and soft settle in his palm, the whispery sensation a far cry from what he was expecting. Opening one eye, he looked down at his hand..and gasped. "Oh...Mara.."

Sano's voice caught as he held up the washed and repaired prayer scarf that he'd given up as lost. "Where...did you find this?" 

"One of the passengers gave it to me." Mara ran her finger along a nearly invisible seam. "He thought that you had gone down with the ship." Her eyes darkened with barely restrained emotion. "He wasn't the only one. I watched you...when you went back to try and save that horrible old woman. When the boiler exploded, I thought that....that...you had been killed." She caught her trembling lower lip with her teeth and tried to get back in control. 

"Me too." Sano looked down at the prayer scarf, the minuscule stitches and carefully patched corners blurring up as tears marred his vision. "Mara...you don't know...how much this means to me." He brought the scarf up to his face, inhaling the sweetness of the herb scented soap Mara had used to wash away the soot and sea water. "I was so sure it had been burned along with everything else." 

"What is it?" Mara examined the plain white cloth, suddenly curious.

"It's from Tibet." Sano's deep voice was barely audible. "I stayed with some monks one winter and told em a bunch of stories about my life here in Japan. They were really interested in Kenshin's struggle to try and make things right." He tenderly folded up the whisper thin fabric. "So they made this for him...they wove their hearts and prayers into it....then made me promise I'd give it to Kenshin. It nearly did me in when that damn boat sank and I thought I'd lost it." 

"You're such a good friend, such a caring man." Mara hesitantly covered his warm hand with her much cooler one. "I hope that one day I can repay you for your kindness to me."

Sanosuke swallowed hard against the lump forming in his throat. "How can you say that? "You've given me everything...this scarf...that suit..." His voice cracked. "...your friendship...." It was all he could do not to break down in front of her. _(I don't understand....I'm nothing...never have been...never will be...) _Bending his head, Sano stared stormily at the rough wooden floor. _(And yet she treats me like a gentleman....a person who matters....)_

"I...I'd better get going." He managed to pull his hand out from under Mara's. "You're tired...and need to get some sleep."

_(Oh Sanosuke....what on Earth happened to you ?)_ Mara thought sadly as she watched her friend stand and walk towards the door, his whispered good night hoarse with unshed tears. It hurt to see him like this...his warmth and humor replaced with bitter self loathing. _(I wish I could help you see what a good man you are....) _Her heart lurched painfully when he turned, and regarded her for a moment, his dark eyes smoldering in the dimly lit light. 

"Thank you...for everything." His hand tightened on the wooden door. "You're a damn fine woman Mara...and..I...just wanted you to know..." Sano struggled for a moment, unsure of how to verbalize the feelings within. "...that...you mean the world to me." He watched as Mara reacted to his awkward confession, seeing in the bashful blush and stammered response an unspoken affirmation that she also cared for him...a realization that made him incredibly happy...and unbelievably sad. _( What I wouldn't give for a chance to be with her....to hold her...just once...to show her how much she means to me...)_ Sanosuke forced himself to slide the bedroom door shut, thankful for the thin barrier it created between himself and the woman he desired. _(But it will never happen....)_ Closing his eyes in resignation he slid down against the solid wooden framework. _( I lost one woman because I was a selfish bastard who couldn't control himself...I'll be damned if I do it again...)_

Seven Years Earlier

  


"You sure you're gonna be all right?" Sano crouched down by Kenshin's futon, his dark eyes radiating concern. "I can stay here...ya know...just in case something happens.." The unvoiced thought rang out in the silent room. _(In case he shows up...)_ It had been a blow to find out that Kenshin's brother in law had managed to escape from the police and was now a dangerous fugitive...his whereabouts still unknown. _(That white haired son of a bitch better stay the hell away from Kenshin and my little miss....)_ Sanosuke snarled softly, still amazed that a human being could be so unspeakably cruel and twisted. _( ..cause if I ever get my hands on him, he's a dead man...)_

"We'll be fine." Kenshin's voice was dull and listless. "Enishi is no longer a threat to myself, or Miss Kaoru." The red head tried to give a reassuring smile...and failed utterly.

_(He already did enough damage to last a thousand lifetimes....)_ The ex street fighter gazed sadly down at his battered friend, seeing in Kenshin's emaciated frame and wild haunted eyes the unhealed agony of a shattered heart and a nearly broken mind. _(Gods....it just isn't fair!...Why should one man go through so much....and have so little to show for his suffering ?) _Sano reached out and pulled up the blanket, tucking the worn fabric under the smaller man's chin. "I'm sorry Kenshin...that this had to happen..." Sano's voice was rough with regret. "...that I wasn't there when you needed me." 

He had turned his back on his friends...unable to bear the sounds of Kenshin's ragged screams...the sight of Kaoru's lifeless blue eyes. _(I couldn't stand to see my family fall apart...so I left....)_ He jumped when Kenshin reached over and clasped his wrist, surprised that the weakened man had so strong a grip. 

"Don't say such things." Kenshin wearily shook his head. "You thought that I was gone...that she..." He closed his eyes against the painful memories. "...had been killed.." The faint hiss of wood sliding against wood brought him up out of that dark pit. _(But we were wrong...thank the Gods...)_

"Kenshin?" Kaoru whispered as she knelt by his side. "What's wrong? Are you still in pain?" Her face was anxious. "You are...I can see it in your eyes. I'll go get Megumi and see if there is anything she can do for you." 

"Trust me babe...this is one thing you don't want the fox trying to fix." Sano muttered,

slightly exasperated at the younger girl's naivete. _(Cause believe me....Megumi would be more than happy to give it her best shot.)_ He snorted and rose to his feet. "The best thing you can do for Kenshin is stay right by him tonight and smile." A bittersweet smirk slid across his face as he sild the door shut. _( There, I've said it...the rest is up to them....)_

Kaoru's cheeks flushed a fetching shade of pink as she realized what Sanosuke has just implied. _(I want to help Kenshin...to ease his pain...)_ Her eyes welled up with frustrated tears. _(I just don't know how....)_ She clasped her hands tightly in her lap, lamenting her utter lack of understanding when it came to the ways of men and women. _(...or even if he would welcome such an attempt after what he's been through...) _Yahiko had finally broken down and told her of what had happened, his broken recitation of Yukishiro's revenge leaving her in tears and afraid that once again...her beloved wanderer would leave...never to return. _(I couldn't bear to lose you again...)_

Kenshin gasped when Kaoru threw her arms around his neck and began sobbing, her tears mingling with his own. Hesitantly he returned the embrace...still too grief stricken to really believe that the woman he loved more than his own life was whole and unharmed, that she had been spared...that he still had a chance to find redemption and peace...hopefully by her side. _(I should leave...tell you to find a better man...one unstained by such a bloody past...)_ Kenshin pulled the weeping girl closer, pressing petal soft kisses against her damp eyelids. _(But I can't...May the Gods forgive me...I can't bear to be without you....) _ With a groan he lifted up Kaoru's face, capturing her mouth with a fiercely restrained kiss. "Stay with me." He pulled back slightly, giving this innocent the time to refuse....praying that she wouldn't. "I need to hold you...to know that you're safe.." _(That I have a reason to keep on living....)_

Kaoru trembled, her response born from a bewildering mixture of instinctive desire and her fear of the unknown. _(Can I do this...am I ready ?)_ She hesitated only for a moment...then silently nodded, brushing her lips across his in a tender and unmistakable invitation. "Then hold me Kenshin..." Her eyes fluttered shut when he kissed her again, his desire and need matching her own unspoken urges. "Love me."

Kenshin paused, his deep violet eyes burning. "I already do."

  


The Next Morning (1880)

  


_(Gods...I'm starving...) _Sano's stomach grumbled, echoing the sentiment. _(I wonder what's for breakfast?)_ He easily hopped over the rusted out excuse for a gate and sauntered towards the dojo, anticipating a belly full of food, some good conversation..and if he was really lucky...the chance to flirt with a certain cinnamon eyed doctor. _(I've had enough of being down in the dumps...It's high time for everyone to quit moping around and get back to the business of living...)_

Whistling cheerfully, Sano made his way up the steps. "Hey guys! I'm..." The

unmistakable sound of clacking geta brought him up short. _(Speaking of a certain doctor....) _He turned back towards the gate, his dark eyes brightening. "Hey Fox!" __

Megumi smiled thinly at the tall man, annoyed that the normally late riser had managed to beat her to the house. _(Wonderful...now I have to deal with a rooster head and a racoon girl....)_ She tossed back her hair and primly made her way up the steps, trying to ignore the warm tone to Sanosuke's voice as he bid her good morning, focusing instead on his clumsy attempt at being a gentleman by opening the door for her. _( He should just give up on this...and accept what and who he is...)_

"So...how's your day going?" Despite Megumi's chilly response, Sano tried to keep his tone bright. 

"Considering that the sun rose less than an hour ago....I'd say that my day has just begun." Megumi said in the most condescending voice she could manage. "Really Sanosuke, you should go back to bed...I'm sure that a man like you isn't used to being up before noon."

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sano's growled. "Look sweetheart, I was just trying to be nice!" He glared at the perfectly composed woman for a moment, trying to come up with an equally scathing retort...wishing that he didn't have to. _(..I wish she'd just talk to me...like I was a friend....instead of a damn nuisance she can't wait to get rid of...) _"You should try it sometime."

"I might just do that." Megumi's voice was as smooth as hand dyed silk. "As soon as I find someone worth being nice to." She arched her delicately shaped eyebrows and calmly regarded the irate ex-gangster. "Unlike some people I know, I'm not very keen on wasting my time."

"Oh...I wouldn't say that." Sanosuke's full mouth curled into a sneer. "You're more than willing to throw yourself at Kenshin." He shoved his hands into his pockets and glared at the slender physician. "Now...if that's not a waste of time, I don't know what one is."

"How dare you!" Megumi hissed, her face paling with anger.

"No." Sano shook his head angrily. "How dare you." He jerked his thumb towards his injured friend's bedroom. "Why can't you accept the fact that Kaoru and Kenshin love each other...that they need each other in ways that we can't even imagine!" His chest heaved with emotion. "You should have seen em last night...holding each other like their lives depended on it." Impulsively he reached out, cupping her beautiful face with his battle scarred hand. "Let them be Meg...."

"I...can't." Megumi's voice faltered. "I love him. I have from the moment I saw him." Her painted lip trembled in a rare show of real emotion. "Why should I have to give up my only chance at happiness?"

"How can you say that?" Sano whispered, his hand tightening ever so lightly against her perfect skin. "You're a beautiful woman...there are plenty of men who would do anything for a chance with you." He swallowed hard, finding it difficult to continue. "I...I'd...do...anything.."

"You can't be serious." Megumi gasped, her eyes wide with sudden understanding. He gazed up at the fighter, seeing in his face the naked admiration that she wished for from another. "It...we...could never...it's impossible!"

"Why?" Sano persisted as he took a step towards her. "You know I care for you...that I'd do anything to make you happy." He closed his eyes when she shook her head and tried to pull away, amazed that such a simple action could be so painful to endure. "At least let me try."

"It would be to no avail." Megumi pushed at Sanosuke's chest, desperate to end such an uncomfortable conversation. "I have goals...and dreams...a lifetime of mistakes to make up for." She stepped back and tried to calm her unsteady breathing. "You would only get in the way."

Sanosuke jerked his hand back to his side. "I see." He stood with his fists clenched, the pain in his heart at odds with the anger that Megumi's casual cruelty had ignited. "Well then...I guess I'd better find somewhere else to be." A faint rustle in one of the bedrooms caught his attention. _(Dammit...I'll bet good money we woke everyone up with our pointless arguing...)_ "I suggest you also make yourself scarce." His tone was unbelievably cold. "The last thing Kenshin needs to deal with is a selfish, jealous woman." 

Megumi opened her mouth, a scathing reply on her lips. _(Why you stupid....)_ Her retort died in her throat though when Kaoru stumbled out of the hallway, clad in nothing more than a hastily tied gi....a man's gi to be precise, the deep magenta color heartbreakingly familiar. 

"What in the name of the Greater Gods are you two doing?" Kaoru muttered as she tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Nothing...I was just about to leave." Sano shot Megumi a glare that indicated that she better follow his example. "So...how's Kenshin feeling this morning?" He couldn't help but grin when his artless question caused the kendo instructor to turn the same shade as her borrowed robe. 

"Umm...He's fine." Kaoru nervously dug her toes into the floor. "A little sleepy perhaps...but ...I...oh!" Impossibly, her blush deepened. "Never mind."

"Good morning." Kenshin said softly, his fiery red hair in wild disarray. He paused for a moment, his eyes first fixing on Kaoru's embarrassed face...then to Megumi's disapproving scowl....and finally over to a wide eyed Sanosuke. _(What a way to start the day....)_ Kenshin tried to smooth back his bangs...then sighed. _( I should have just stayed in bed...)_ His gaze returned to Kaoru...focusing on her full, upturned mouth.....still swollen from numerous kisses. _(We...both should have...)_. "Would you two care for some tea?"

"No..no thank you." Megumi blinked furiously, trying to keep her tattered emotions from completely unraveling. "I just wanted to drop off some spare bandages and another container of salve." Her fingers shook as she tried to open her medical satchel. "The wounds on his arm and back are still slightly infected." Megumi handed the linen bundle to Kaoru. "I expect you to clean then twice a day and let me know the instant he develops a fever." The younger woman nodded...unsure how to respond to her clipped orders. "I expect to see of you at the clinic bright and early tomorrow morning. There are certain medical matters that must be discussed." She nodded slightly at Kenshin, then turned away before the former assassin could see her traitorous tears. 

"C'mon Megumi." Sano whispered, his anger forgotten. "Lemme walk you to the clinic." 

His eyes were soft with compassion. _(I tried to warn you....but you were too damn stubborn to listen...)_ He awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets, wishing that he had Kenshin's gentle speech or a semblance of grace to deal with such a difficult situation. "You've probably got a passel of patient's waiting for ya."

"You're right." Megumi managed in a half steady voice. "I had best be going." She held up her hand when Sano tried to come closer. "Alone." Summoning what dignity she had left, Megumi walked out the door and into the brilliant morning light.

Late That Evening (1880)

The sky was a brilliant mosaic of stars, each tiny flickering light illuminating the dark night canopy above. Sano craned his neck back and sighed, envious of the utter calmness the unreachable sky offered._ (What I wouldn't give to be up there...looking down at this mess from a safe distance...)_ He carefully opened the gate to the clinic, his eyes fixed on the wavering shadows that indicated someone was inside the semi-darkened building. Taking care not to make a sound, Sanosuke walked up the cobblestone pathway, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. _(Megumi's not going to be happy to see me...)_ He paused and tried to think of a way he could check on the woman without getting his head bitten off in the process._(Hell, she won't give me the time of day unless I'm bleeding_) He glanced around, then seeing that no one was watching, bent down and slammed his still healing wrist into a jagged cobblestone. He snarled as he felt half healed scar tissue split open, staining his worn linen bandages with hot, sticky blood._(But now...I have a reason for her to let me in...)_

"Knock, Knock, Knock!" Megumi raised her aching head and glared at the door. _(This had better be good...) _Pressing an unsteady hand against her throbbing temple, she stood up and made her way to the door, wincing as the ill oiled hinges creaked rustily. 

"What are you doing here?" 

"I...umm...." Sano took a deep breath and held up his battered hand.

"Gods! You are such an idiot!" Megumi nearly slammed the door right in his face. "How many times have I told you not to re-injure that hand?"

Sanosuke shrugged and allowed himself to be roughly pulled inside. "What can I say?" He tried to look repentant...then gave up and slid into a chair. "Shit happens."

"You have no idea." Megumi snapped as he tried to thread a needle, her hands unusually shaky.

"You'd be surprised." Sano leaned closer to the woman...then sniffed. "You're drunk." He sniffed again, his eyes widening. "Really drunk." 

"I am not!" Megumi blinked, trying to clear her blurry vision. "Any fool knows that a drink or two is restorative in nature."

"Yeah...but a bottle will get you plastered." Sano rolled his eyes when Megumi made a sound somewhere between a giggle and a sob. _(I have a feeling this is going to be a long, long night...)_

  


A Few Hours Later (1880)

  


"I said drink it." Sano handed Megumi another cup of tea. "Trust me babe....come morning, you're gonna need it." He watched as the pale woman slowly drank the fragrant blend. "Ya know...I didn't think that you were the type to drink your problems away." Despite the chiding words, his voice was kind. "Though I can't say I blame you"

Megumi closed her eyes and sighed. "You must think I'm a fool." She leaned back against the chair and willed her headache to disappear, for the pain in her heart and mind to evaporate...leaving her empty once again. 

Sano dipped a rag in some cool well water. "Why?" He wrung out the cloth and gently placed it on Megumi's clammy forehead. "Because you're disappointed and sad?" His eyes drifted over the doctor's sculpted features, lingering on her tear swollen lashes. "That doesn't make you a fool Meg...it makes you a person." He let his hand linger for a moment, amazed at how soft and silky her skin felt....then quickly pulled away, knowing that she would normally never tolerate such familiarity. __

"You were right about what you said this morning." Megumi whispered, surprised at the loss she felt when Sanosuke pulled away from her. "You said that I was selfish...and jealous." A small bitter sob escaped her painted lips. "No wonder Kenshin didn't want me..." She covered her face with her hands and began to weep. "No man would...not after the things I've done...the mistakes I've made...." Her thin frame shook miserably. "I should resign myself to the fact that I'll always be alone...and unloved."

"C'mon sweetheart, don't....don't cry." Sano awkwardly embraced her sobbing woman, his heart aching. "There's nothing wrong with you...not a damn thing." He pulled Megumi closer, threading his hands through her gossamer hair. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." His heart skipped a beat when he felt Megumi's arms settle on his back, the contact both tender and arousing. "As far as no man wanting you...or loving you...." Sanosuke hesitated, his already battered pride warring against his desire to try and undo the pain he'd caused by his thoughtless remarks earlier that morning. 

"Yes?" Megumi prompted, eager to hear the words...no matter who they came from.

"I...I already do." His deep voice was a mere rumble. Sano tried to pull away, expecting at worse another scathing dismissal....at best a stony silence that bespoke her contempt for such an admission. Instead, he felt her soft body stiffen for a moment....then suddenly relax against him...the curves and planes of her breasts and stomach apparent even under her kimono.

"I know." Megumi sighed and closed her eyes again, wishing that the confession had come from another man...a better man. _(Still...for tonight....it's better than nothing....)_ She turned her face until it was pressed up against the tall man's neck, his rapid pulse throbbing under the darkly tanned skin. Whether it was the alcohol coursing through her body, pity or perhaps the simple desire for basic human contact she tilted her mouth up...and brushed his jaw with a feather light kiss. "I always have."

Sano's hands tightened around Megumi when the woman repeated the action, her mouth becoming bolder...her invitation unmistakable as she pressed herself more firmly against his chest. _(What in the hell is she up to?)_ Doubt suddenly blossomed in his mind, prompting him to quickly pull away from this most unexpected of embraces, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Don't do this to me Megumi." Sano looked at the woman carefully, trying to discern her motives...finding that the sight of her beautiful face nearly undid him. "Not unless you mean it." He reached up and brushed away a loose strand of hair from her face, the tenderness in his action at odds with the fierce look in his deep brown eyes. 

_(I...I can't believe it !)_ Sano's heart leaped when Megumi brought her face up towards him..her crimson lips parting expectantly. _(She's going to...)_ He groaned softly when he felt her mouth cover his...the sensation sweeter than anything he could have ever imagined. _(Oh Gods...I wanted this...wanted her for so long...)_ His hands began to move lower, till they cupped the woman's firm bottom, pulling her tightly against him aching torso. The kiss between them deepened, becoming almost rough as he entered her mouth, tasting an intoxicating mixture of sake and salty tears. It was the alcohol on her tongue that brought him out of his reverie, reminding him sharply that he woman in his arms had been drinking heavily only a few hours before.

"Meg...we shouldn't." He tried to pull away while he still could, the action causing his body to scream in feral protest. "You...we've been drinking." Sanosuke shuddered when he felt a slender hand slip into the folds of his gi and brush up against his taunt nipple. "Gods!" His groin tightened painfully. "I...I..don't think...that." Coherent thought fled when she kissed him again, her hot, moist mouth obliterating the last shreds of his restraint.

"Sagara Sanosuke." Megumi gasped as he lifted her up into his arms and walked back towards an examining table. "Now is not the time to think." Her spice colored eyes smoldered as she watched the man impatiently fling off his gi, the white scar tissue that ran along his left side creating an erotic counterpoint to his tanned, muscled chest and abdomen. Something akin to desire began dancing through her body...pooling at the juncture between her thighs. "Just to feel." She reached down, cupping the man's erection through his pants, enjoying the harsh moan of pleasure that followed. 

"Who am I..." Sanosuke murmured as he slid off Megumi's smock. "..to argue with a lady?" 

Early The Next Day (1880)

  


The sun was hesitant that morning....its weak rays tentatively sliding though the cobweb stained windows. A filigree of white light trickled into the darkened room....lingering on the airborne dust motes with an airy caress that eventually encompassed two sleeping figures, their naked bodies covered with a worn woollen blanket. With the mindless persistence that only a sunbeam possesses, the room became gradually brighter..the weary occupants reluctantly brought up out of their shared slumber.

The man awoke first, his deep brown eyes blinking in confusion...then softening when they fell on the still slumbering woman spooned up beside him. With tenderness that few would think such a man capable of...he bent down, kissing the woman reverently, his mouth lingering on hers...then softly pulling away before the contact roused her from the sleep he knew she needed. He sat up and stretched, then carefully brought the blanket up around the black haired physician. 

_(That's it love....rest...)_ Sano smiled quietly, amused that he'd allowed himself to think the endearment. _(You had quite a night...)_ He glanced down at his neck...and the mottled mark that Megumi's mouth had left. _(...We both did...)_ His smile brightened as he rose, remembering the way she had responded to him...and he to her. _(It was better than I ever could have imagined...)_ Fighting against the urge to laugh from sheer joy, he quickly pulled on his discarded pants and tiptoed into the small room that served as a kitchen, determined to start the day off right with a steaming cup of tea...and his woman to share it with.

"Clink!" Megumi's eyes snapped open. _(Where am I...?)_ She glanced up at the now bright sunlight and instantly regretted it, covering her aching head with her hands. _(What happened...?)_ Groaning...she sat up, too stiff to realize that she was naked and lying on the floor of Dr. Genzai's office. The slight clinking of ceramic dishes made her wince, the cheerful sound reverberating painfully between her ears. _(Who in the hell is making that racket...?) _Megumi's eyes narrowed slightly as the faint hint of a man humming filtered into the office, his low voice far too familiar for her liking. 

_(Dear Gods..)_ She looked down at gasped, frantically bringing the blanket up to cover her exposed breasts. _(What have I done?) _Megumi flinched as the humming got louder, her sensitive ears stinging. _(And with whom?)_ She scrunched her pretty features up and tried to remember. _(Let's see...I was working on the patient logs...there was a knock on the door...)_ Her face drained of color. _(And I let HIM in...)_ She shakily struggled to her feet, the hangover severe enough to upset her equilibrium and cause her stomach to clench tightly with the promise of nausea . _(Of all the stupid, reckless, impulsive things to do....)_

Megumi's mouth tightened as she began to dress. _(How dare he...take advantage of me in such a state...?)_ She angrily tied her obi, determined to ignore the other memories that were seeping into her addled mind. _(I don't care what I told him...or how I might have been acting...there's simply no excuse for what happened...) _She leaned against a wall, her breathing as uneven as her emotions. _(He should have known...that I could never...)_ Her eyes closed..fighting against the recollection of their bodies pressed tightly together...the whispered endearments...the fullness she felt when he entered her body...her husky cry when she shattered in his arms, her arms and legs wrapped around his warm hard frame as he followed her over the edge. _(That we could never...)_ Megumi pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. _(Oh, Gods....what am I going to do?)_

"Dammit!" Sano's voice made her jump. "You're...awake." He took a hesitant step forward, two steaming cups of tea in hand. "I wanted to surprise you." 

Megumi turned to face him, her face unreadable. "Well congratulations. You certainly did." She took a step towards the man, her nails digging into her palms.

"I did?" Sanosuke's face broke into a boyish grin. He glanced out the window, trying to decide if a good morning kiss was in order. _(I've got to do this the right way...) _His eyes fixed on a solitary nightingale perched in a low lying tree branch. _(...show her how much I...)_

"SMACK!" The tea cups fell to the floor...the perfectly sculpted porcelain shattering into unrecognizable shards. 

Sano put a hand to his stinging face...his eyes wide with confusion. "You mind telling me what that was for?" He winced, and pulled his hand back...seeing that her nails had raked across his cheekbone, breaking the skin. _(Why are you acting this way ?) _ He looked over at the woman who had just struck him so harshly...seeing in her glittering eyes not the gentleness he had been expecting, but bald anger. "Meg?"

"How could you?" Megumi's voice shook with fury. "How could you do this to me?" She took a threatening step towards him, refusing to notice the blood dripping along the side of his jaw. "You stupid bastard !...Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I..." Sanosuke opened his mouth..then snapped it shut, unsure how to respond to her furious questions. He looked down at a puddle of rapidly cooling tea...his distorted reflection refracting against the tea cup fragments. _(I don't understand! Why is she angry at me?)_ A tremor of anger lanced down his spine when Megumi shouted at him again, her voice becoming shrill. _(I didn't do anything that she didn't ask for....)_

"Get out." Megumi reached down and snatched his jacket off the floor. "Now !" She hurled the garment at him.

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Sano caught his jacket with one hand. "I want to know why you're acting this way!"

"Gods!" Megumi threw her hands up in the air. "You are such a moron!" She stood there for a moment...stunned that she had allowed such a moron to have his way with her...then stormed out of the room, taking the time to stomp on Sano's bare foot as she passed by.

"Ow!" Sano bent down and rubbed his throbbing toe. "Dammit Fox, don't you dare pull this shit on me!" 

"Why shouldn't I?" Megumi's voice could be heard in the other room. Sanosuke followed the sound of her tirade into the tiny kitchen, his confusion mounting when he realized that the angry doctor was making what looked like a cup of smudge colored tea. "A man like you deserves no less....especially now!" She hastily downed the murky beverage, gagging at the bitter taste. _(Thanks the Gods that I know how to make this....) _Megumi pressed a hand against her the flat plane of her lower abdomen. _(... it will keep an unfortunate mistake from becoming unbearable...)_

"What type of man would that be Megumi?" Sano leaned casually against the wall, the relaxed posture of his body at odds with the volcanic anger in his eyes. 

Megumi set the empty cup down on the table, refusing to look up at him. "Please....just go." 

"Not until we work things out." His voice was defiant.

"There isn't anything to work out Sanosuke." Megumi rubbed her tired eyes. "There never was...and there certainly never will be." She glanced over to her desk...fixing on a letter she'd received only two days before from her long lost brother in Aizu. _(I'm going to be leaving soon...starting over....) _With a sigh, she finally lifted her head, determined to end things now...while she still had the resolve. _( And you won't be coming with me....)_

"Why?" Sano asked quietly, his mind comprehending what his heart never would. "Am I really that bad for you?" He silently closed the distance between them, desperate to find a way around the woman's disdain and pride. "I know that we're different and all..but that's no reason..."

"Yes, it is." Megumi smoothed her wrinkled smock, wishing that it didn't look like it had spend the evening discarded in a heap on the floor. "I don't expect you to understand the nuances of a healthy relationship between a man and woman...but what happened...it...it isn't enough to base a foundation on."

"Then why did you let me..." Sano closed his eyes against the burning behind his eyelids. "If it didn't mean anything.." _(If I didn't mean anything....)_ "Gods, Meg....why didn't you say something?"

A dozen different reasons came to mind....each more incriminating than the next. _(I wanted to feel safe...and desired...to loose myself for a moment...) _Megumi's face burned with shame as she recalled just how thoroughly she had lost herself lying in his strong embrace. _(I needed to forget that I'm a doctor first and a woman second...) _Jealousy began to creep into her thoughts as she recalled Kenshin's gi wrapped wantonly around Kaoru's girlish body. _(That the man I love would choose another...) _Her hands fisted tightly as Sano repeated his question, his mindless persistence making her angry. _(And leave me with the scraps....) _

"Would it have mattered if I did?" She flipped her hair carelessly, her insinuation hanging between them. 

"Of course it would have!" Sano shouted, his cheeks flushing with indignation. 

"I highly doubt that." Megumi snapped, refusing to accept what she knew to be true. "You've never been the type of man to take no for an answer." She tried to give him a haughty smile...then yelped when he caught her by the wrist and jerked her against his chest.

"You take that back." His voice was dreadfully quiet.

"Let go of me!" Megumi tried to back away, suddenly frightened. 

Sanosuke tightened his grip ever so slightly on her delicate wrist bone. "Take it back!" 

"No." She lifted her chin defiantly. "It's the truth."

He felt like he was falling into a nightmare...one of his own making. "No!" Sano whispered hoarsely...too horrified at Megumi's accusation to breathe. "I'd never do something like that to you!" 

"You did." Megumi jerked her hand away from the white faced man. "You waited until you knew I was alone...and sad...and vulnerable." Her voice rose as tears splattered down her cheeks. "...you used me...took me ..." 

Sanosuke shook his head. "No...that's not how it happened." He swallowed hard against the rising tide of grief and panic. "You kissed me." His hand went up to his bleeding cheek, remembering how soft her lips had been. 

"I was drunk!" Megumi shouted. "I didn't mean it...any of it!" She pushed Sanosuke as hard as she could manage. "Do you really think a sober woman would allow you to touch her?" Her eyes glittered with anger. "Though I suppose you never have been very particular about such things."

"Don't you dare place all the blame on me for what happened."Sano swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady. "I tried to stop...told you we shouldn't." 

"The hell you did." Megumi retorted, forgetting in her righteous anger that ladies didn't use such language. "You wanted only one thing from me Sagara Sanosuke....and you managed to trick me into giving it to you!"

Sanosuke roared and slammed his fist into the nearby wall, the impact pulverizing the plaster facade. "I didn't take anything that wasn't freely given!" 

Megumi stumbled back, her eyes going wide when Sano repeated the action, this time shattering a vase. She had never seen him this angry and was suddenly terrified that in his wrath, he would harm her. 

"Don't..." She stammered, holding her hands up in a protective gesture. 

"Don't what?" Sano shouted as he overturned the table they'd made love on the night before. "Don't be angry?" Snarling ferally, he advanced on Megumi. "Sorry sweetheart, but I don't take kindly to being fucked over by a manipulative little bitch!" With a lunge he pinned her against the wall, too angry to notice the look of terror in Megumi's teary eyes....or the sound of someone knocking on door.

_(How utterly typical...)_ Kaoru snorted and brushed back a stray lock of hair. She waited for a moment, then knocked again, her irritation growing by the second. _(I could still be back at home...in bed...with Kenshin....)_ A rosy blush tinted her cheeks. _(If I hurry...I still can be...)_ She turned to leave...then paused as muffled cry filtered through the door, followed by the unmistakable sounds of something breaking. _(What on Earth is going on in there?) _ Kaoru pressed her ear against the wooden door..listening carefully. _(Oh no...there's someone in there with her!)_ Her face flushed red again...this time from anger. _(Well, however it is...he's about to have his ass kicked!) _With a mighty cry, Kaoru kicked open the door and charged inside.

"Sanosuke!" Kaoru slid to a stop, her hands flying to her mouth. "What on earth happened to the clinic?" She tried to move...to think...to come up with a reason why a man she loved as a brother has half naked and bleeding. _(Oh no...it can't be!...)_ Kaoru's knees buckled when Megumi stumbled into her arms, sobbing hysterically. _( He wouldn't do such a thing....)_ Trying to calm the taller woman, she cast Sano a beseeching look, begging him with her wide blue eyes to rationally explain what she had stumbled into. _(Tell me this is a mistake...that you didn't touch her....) _Megumi collapsed, her keening wails ripping into the younger girl like a knife. __

"I...I didn't ...." Sano's mouth was drier than dust. "It's not what you think!" He stumbled towards the two women, then froze when Megumi screamed, his stomach lurching. 

"I think...that you should leave." Kaoru glanced out the open door, blanching when she realized that Megumi's screams were drawing a crowd of curious onlookers. "Please...just go..." She hugged the taller woman tightly, muffling her cries against her shoulder, praying that she didn't burst into tears herself. "Now!"

"Dammit Kaoru...I didn't do anything!" Sano screamed hoarsely, devastated that the younger woman was so willing to assume the worse. "You've got to believe me !" He groaned when Kaoru stepped between himself and Megumi, her little face set the sternest of scowls. _(You don't....I can see it in your eyes....) _

"I'm sorry." Kaoru whispered brokenly. "I don't know what to think right now." The crowd outside came closer, their voices carrying the distinct hint of anger. She managed somehow to disentangle herself from Megumi and ran back to the heavy wooden door, slamming it shut. _(What am I supposed to do?)_

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" A man's deep voice called out, demanding entrance. 

"Sano, you've got to get out of here!" Kaoru begged. "Please!" She glanced over at Megumi...damning the woman's noisy cries. _(If I find out that he is telling the truth....I swear, I'll never forgive you...)_ "You know what will happen if those men find you in here."

"Let em come." Sano snarled, his eyes welling up. "I've done nothing wrong." He gazed sadly at both women, seeing in Kaoru's bleak expression and Megumi's angry silence the truth of the matter...that no matter what had actually happened, his guilt was already assumed.

"Go!" Kaoru urged. "While you still have time!" She cursed when Sano refused, knowing that the stubborn man would rather be arrested than run.

"Sanosuke, please....go." Megumi sobbed, too upset to apologize, too embarrassed to admit what had really happened. "We'll...talk about this later."

"I'm not leaving you alone." Sano shook his head. _(I don't want those bastards outside to think you were dishonored...)_

"GET OUT!" Kaoru screamed. _(Before this really gets out of hand...)_

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" Sanosuke stumbled towards the back door, the tears in his eyes making his vision swim. _(Oh Gods....)_ He glanced back and groaned...the sight of the overturned clinic table, Megumi's anguished sobs and the look of horror on Kaoru's face forever imprinting themselves in his mind. _(What have I done...)_

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" He ran out into the glaring morning light...away from the sounds of angry voices and weeping women...and back into blessed wakefulness.......

  


Early the Next Morning (1887)

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" Sanosuke bolted upright, his chest heaving. He ran a shaking hand over his moist eyes, trying to gain control over a nightmare that had plagued his dreams for over half a decade. _(I tried to explain what happened...that I'd rather die than hurt my Meg....)_ A half choked sob escaped through his tightly clenched teeth. _( But she didn't believe me....not deep down....) _ He had seen doubt blossoming in Kaoru's eyes when he'd embraced Mara...the younger woman's unspoken warning painfully clear. _(She thinks that I'm not good enough for her friend....)_ Sano wiped his eyes with the blanket covering his body...then gasped realizing who it belonged to. _(She's right...) _

Sometime in the night, Mara had found him asleep and shivering against her tightly closed door and had wrapped him in her warmest blanket, a gesture that deeply touched his wounded heart. _(I'll never know what I did to deserve such kindness from such a woman...)_ Sano sprang to his feet as footsteps approached, unwilling to give anyone the impression he had been sleeping so close to Mara's bedroom. He walked quickly towards the entrance, the worried tone in Kenshin's voice banishing the last vestiges of his dream back down within his heart. 

"What's up?" Sano said quietly, hoping his voice sounded steady.

"There's been an accident." The red head sighed, his eyes grim. "A train full of passengers derailed just south of the East Tokyo Terminal."

"Please!" A young police officer looked around the dojo. "I must collect Dr. Mogensen and get back as quickly as possible!" His uniform was covered in blood and his hands were shaking uncontrollably.

"What are your casualty estimates?" Mara's low voice caused the officer to jump. She staggered out of her bedroom, trying to plait her wild curls into the semblance of a braid. 

"I...I don't know." The officer stammered, obviously shaken. "At least twenty or thirty dead...and there are still too many passengers trapped under the cars to get a realistic tally of the injured." His black eyes shimmered. "I'm afraid that there will a terrible need for amputations."

Mara nodded, already dreading the heart rending screams. "I'll need to stop by the clinic and get the bone saws." She glanced out into the early morning gloom and tried not to shiver. "How many doctors are already at the scene?"

"Three." The officer said softly. "Including yourself."

"Three?" Mara shook her head in disbelief. "You can't be serious!" She shrugged on her icy jacket and tried not to shout. "How in the name of Hell am I supposed to treat that many patients?" She stormed into her room, swearing violently when she stumbled over a stack of books. 

"Are you sure this foreigner is a competent physician?" The police officer blanched as a string of obscenities rang out. "She seems...well...rather...unorthodox." 

"Watch it pal." Sanosuke snapped. "That "foreigner" is the best damn doctor you'll ever lay your beady little eyes on." 

He walked into Mara's bedroom, careful not to trip over the medical texts that were scattered on the floor. "Are you going to be able to stay awake?" Sano asked quietly. 

"Do I have a choice?" Mara said wryly. She glanced back at the somber faced man, her observant eyes fixing on Sano's red rimmed eyes. "Are you going to be all right?" 

Sanosuke carefully folded up the blanket Mara had covered him with, placing it at the foot of her empty bed. "Sure...why wouldn't I be?" His attempt at being tough crumbled when Mara walked over and threw her arms around him, enveloping him in a fierce hug. He sagged against the willowy woman, wishing that he could tell her...afraid that if he did, she'd never want to touch him again. _( And that would kill me...)_

"Dr. Mogensen?" The young (and foolish) policeman stuck his head into the woman's bedroom. "I don't suppose you could hurry things along?" 

"Did anyone ever teach you to knock?" Sano growled, stepping away from the red faced doctor. He glared at the smaller man until the officer made some incoherent apology and backed out of the bedroom. "I think that I'm gonna come with you on this one." Sano tousled the woman's hair. "Or would you rather spend some one on one time with that retarded cop?

"He wouldn't last ten minutes with me and you know it." The tall woman stomped out of her bedroom, her duffle bag overflowing with bandages and medical supplies. "I'm going to need at least three men to help me hold down the patients." She glared at the apprehensive officer. "Let me guess? Nobody bothered to round up some extra ether?" 

"Is that important?" The young officer asked, then winced when the woman began cursing in a foreign language, her pretty features becoming positively violent.

"Very." Kenshin sighed. "Unless you would prefer that Dr. Mogensen remove limbs without the benefit of anesthesia." 

"Hey! What's going on?" Yahiko skidded to a stop, still in the process of dressing.

"There's been a serious accident. Kenshin and Sano are going to come with me to help out." Mara tried to cram some more bandages into her already overburdened duffle bag . "Would you please look after Kaoru and Kenji until we return?"

"No way!" The eighteen year old protested. "I'm coming with you." 

"Absolutely not!" Mara snapped. "There is no way in hell that I am exposing a child to field amputations." 

"Who are you calling a child?" Yahiko's voice rose an octave.

"Ease up kid." Sano clamped his hand on the irate teenager's shoulder. "She didn't mean it that way." He glanced over at Kenshin...then back to the young man, seeing in his defiant and hurt expression an echo of the frustration he once felt. _(He doesn't want to be left behind...)_ "I'm warning you Yahiko, the first time I watched a man loose his arm I nearly pissed all over myself. You come with us and I guarantee that you won't sleep decently for weeks." His expression was unusually serious. "Still, you're a grown man and capable of making up your own mind."

"Sanosuke is right." Kenshin held up his hand, silencing Mara's protests. He gazed fondly at Yahiko, seeing in the boy's eagerness an echo of his own long lost naivete. _(Still...this passage is one that a man must go through....)_ "We would greatly appreciate your help."

_(How utterly typical....I have a disaster area to manage...and the men decide it's time for some manly bonding!) _She opened her mouth...then shut it, resigning herself to the fact, unwilling to hurt Yahiko's feelings more than she already had. _(Still, if he throws up....I'm making Sanosuke clean it up...) _ With that thought in mind she walked out of the dojo.

______________________________________________________________________________

_Coming up in the next chapter...._

"No..." Mara whispered sadly. "Dr Williams did her best to keep them away from you." She took another step forward, then froze as he pressed the gun barrel against her throat. "We all are trying to help you Terrence. You are important to us....we won't give up on you." Her throat tightened as she watched the trigger finger twitch erratically. "I won't give up on you." 

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_I would like to thank the following people for taking the time to read my story and leave a review for chapter 6...NightRain, Imbrium, Me, Shadowfax, Nemo, Midori, Lady Sadi and the Little Elf, Fujifunmum, Le-Chan, Carter Tachikawa, EK, Oryo, Marstanuki, Mad Melma, Eillwony, Firuze, Vesa and Nomad of the Plains (Love you Dan!)_

  


I appreciate your kindness and comments and will (if you leave an email) respond personally to any and all questions you might have regarding this...and my other upcoming stories...__

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	8. The Ties That Bind Part Two

_Sorry for the delay in posting...I'm trying to get over a nasty flare up of Carpal Tunnel and am down to pecking with my left hand. Then to top it off, Fanfiction went down for about at week and I couldn't update. On a happier note, this story was nominated and won an award for "Best Adventure Story" on Nikki's website. I would like to thank all of you who took the time to vote and for the wonderful support you have shown me. I hope that you all know that your reviews, comments and questions are deeply appreciated. _ _So, here is chapter eight. I completely revised it due to some thoughtful comments by two of my best readers. (Thanks again!)_

  


AS TIME GOES BY__

_Chapter Eight_

The Ties That Bind _(Part Two of Three)_

  
  
  


It began with a single snowflake....One tiny, insubstantial granule of air spun ice. It fell mindlessly from the sky, twisting and dancing down towards the earth with graceless ease. Other snowflakes began to follow suit, each one a miniature work of art. They too made their descent...some landing on rooftops...others finding rest in on withered maple leaves. Some met their demise amidst the tangle of skirts and coats, others fell victim to the icy puddles that littered the busy walkways of downtown Tokyo. 

Despite the losses, the snow still fell from the sky. Crystal by crystal, ice mote by ice mote, the teeming city was slowly transformed into a pristine dream scape filled with chiseled snow drifts and ice covered meditation pools. In the space of a night, the soot filled city was reborn into a gleaming white metropolis of icicles and freshly driven snow. Those who dared brave the bitter temperatures would recall that the city had never seemed so fair..so utterly unspoiled by the ravages of an ill timed industrial revolution. It was a wonderland of purity, a glowing white winter dream that dazzled the eye and left the heart and mind at peace......

That is as long as you didn't stray into the nightmare that had once been a busy train terminal.

Here, the snow was no longer white...but stained with smoldering chunks of half burned coal, oil drops and hastily discarded luggage. There were other stains...menacing crimson stains that bled out in a million different directions, dyeing the virginal snow with the color of human misery. These stains bespoke suffering, pain and fear and if one was observant enough, whispered the fate of the person from whence the blood spatters and pools originated. Footsteps appeared...frantically spaced, and erratic as though the people making them had been running. Eventually, the footsteps all led to one place...a run down excuse for shipping warehouse. It had poorly fashioned wooden plank walls and a leaking tin roof that had turned a sickly shade of green from years of neglect and oxidation. At one time, the building had reeked of discarded cargo and years of accumulated rat feces....now the tang of antiseptic and the sweet smell of soap could be detected emanating from the thin, water warped walls. It was to this wreck of a building that all the footsteps and bloodstains led, a pathetic ending place for so many lives and dreams. 

The stains stopped at the foot of the stairs, then suddenly diverged....some leading to one room that was littered with the blanketed remains of those who had been killed by the initial impact or who had died from a combination of blood loss, shock and hypothermia. This makeshift morgue was terribly quiet, the only sound being the occasion sounds of suppressed weeping from grieving family looking for a familiar face and finding it among the dead. 

The other trail led to a brightly lit room where the smell of blood and tears warred with carbolic acid and laundered bandages. This room was noisy and chaotic, a whirlwind of action. Voices competed for attention...some were groans, some angry demands for assistance, others were simply pain filled screams. 

And yet again, if one took the time to listen...several voices stood apart from the moans and whimpers. One belonged to a young man....it was shaky and thin from grief and horror, but still managed somehow to contain great amounts of kindness. One voice was deep and gruff, the verbal embodiment of anger that anyone should suffer in such a manner. The third voice was no more than a whisper on the wind, a quiet soothing tenor that radiated a surreal calmness and left those it touched at ease and willing to endure what they must. Finally amidst the chaos, the fourth voice could be heard. It was reason personified, clipped and precise. Unlike the others, these tones could only belong to a woman...one whose mind and body had been pushed to the limits of her endurance over and over again and now...at the end of this trial was nearly undone. 

_(I can't keep doing this...)_ Mara pressed her forehead against the wall and tried to force her shaking hands into stillness. _(I'm too tired to think properly and am going to make a mistake...)_ It had been nearly eighteen hours since she'd begun to operate..an eternity of screams and pain and blood. _(Gods...the blood....)_ Tired grey eyes stared listlessly at her woolen skirt. It was saturated with gore...no longer charcoal in color, but a deep shade of vermillion. _(I'll never be rid of it....)_ A barely suppressed sob began to worm its way up her sore throat. _(Never....)_

"Here." Sano's deep voice caused her to startle. "I..um...thought you might like something to warm you up." He held out a steaming cup of fragrant green tea.

"Thank you." Mara tried to smile as she reached out for the blessedly warm beverage. 

"Don't mention it." Sanosuke nodded slightly, never taking his eyes of the woman's trembling limbs. _(Gods, Sweetheart...you can't even hold a damn cup of tea !....)_ His eyes narrowed angrily when Mara's unsteady hold caused the hot tea to slosh over the rim of the teacup and onto her cracked, overworked hands. "Dammit Mara! You're gonna burn yourself!" Sano reached over and snatched the porcelain cup before anymore of its contents spilled. 

"I'm...sorry." Mara whispered raggedly. 

_(Way to go Sagara....why don't you kick her while you're at it?)_ Sano inwardly cursed, realizing that once again is concern for the slender doctor had been misinterpreted as anger. "C'mon babe...I didn't mean to snap at ya." He thought for a moment, then grinned...pleased at the solution he'd come up with. "Here." Holding out the teacup towards her, Sanosuke deliberately made his voice as soft as he could manage. "Lemme help you." His eyes softened when the exhausted woman nodded slightly, and allowed him to help steady the teacup while she drank from it. "Does that make you feel a bit better?"

"Yes." Mara nodded, unsure which sensation was more enjoyable...the warmth of the tea

in her empty stomach, or the rough texture of Sanosuke's hands against her own. 

"Good." He lifted the cup back up towards her pale mouth. "Now, have some more."

Mara tried not to blush...and failed miserably. _(Good grief...I really do need to get some sleep !...)_ She glanced up at Sano's face and barely repressed the urge to run her fingertips over the coarse stubble on his chin and cheeks. _(The man is just trying to be nice...and here I am acting like a twitter pated ninny...) _

_(I love it when she does that...)_ Sanosuke thought as Mara's face turned a delightful shade of red. He inwardly shook his head, and tried to focus on the task at hand...namely keeping the woman awake until the search parties reported that there we no more survivors to be found. "Um...I'm sure that Yahiko and the others will be back any minute. I'd be really surprised if they find anyone else."

Mara's face fell at the thought. "You're probably right. With night falling, the temperature is going to plummet." She glanced over at the ragged row of futons she'd managed to commander and sighed. "I'm going to have a hard enough time keeping my patients from going hypothermic as is." Groaning at the thought of staying up another twelve hours, Mara covered her face with her hands. 

"Mara...you've got to get some sleep." Sano set the tea cup down and wondered if he'd get in too much trouble if he simply picked the slender woman up, flung her over his shoulder and marched her right back to her bedroom at the dojo. "If you keep pushing yourself like this..." He sighed and turned away, knowing that the last thing the sleep deprived physician needed was another lecture. _(You're gonna get sick....)_ A cool hand caught him by his arm, stilling him instantly. 

"Sanosuke....I want you to know..." Mara gnawed her bottom lip for a second. "...How thankful I am that you came with me..." She hesitantly slid her hand down....over the terrible scars that marred Sano's wrist...until her thin fingers laced between his, an action that caused her breath to catch in the back of her throat. "You've made this bearable." She tightened her grip, hoping her friend would understand the sentiment of her heart. "Thank you....for everything."

"Don't worry about it." Sanosuke closed his eyes and savored the smoothness of Mara's palm pressed against his own...the tender almost hesitant way her fingers lingered against the twisted scar tissue in a sweet protective gesture. _(In all my life...I've never had a woman touch me like this...) _He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the sudden blush that crept across his cheekbones when she protested softly and tightened her grip, amazed that such a gentle caress could unleash such powerful feelings within him. "I'd do anything to help you." He turned towards her. "I hope you know that."

A strange...almost electric sensation danced through Mara's stomach. "I do." She took an unsteady step towards him, then paused....suddenly aware that something was threatening to shift between them. "You're such a good, kind man."

Her throaty whisper nearly undid him. _(I wish I was...)_ Sano brought his free hand up and brushed back a rebellious lock of her ebony hair, allowing his fingers to trace a path along Mara's jawbone...finding that her skin was slightly cool...and incredibly soft. _(But I'm not...)_ Good men never struggled with the desire to touch and taste a woman still in mourning...Kind men never woke from sleep aching and erect...their bodies and minds begging for release from a woman they weren't worthy to walk beside. _(....And never will be...)_ His eyes darkened hungrily when Mara shyly embraced him, the curves and swells of her body painfully apparent. _(I want to take this woman to my bed and lose myself inside her...)_ He swallowed tightly against the lump in this throat. _(...She treats me like a gentleman...and allows me to be her friend...)_

"I...I've got stuff to take care of." He croaked, horrified at his lack of control. _(Gods...Here I am standing in the middle of a damn hospital thinking about...about...)_ His hands clenched. _(....about things that can never be...)_ Sano looked into Mara's beautiful, grey eyes...seeing himself reflected back from their stormy depths. _(She deserves so much better....) _He glanced down at her hand wrapped tightly over his own, the gold wedding band glinting dully in the subdued lantern light. _(She's had so much better...)_ Sanosuke thought of her late husband, a man who by all accounts was everything that he wasn't....educated, wealthy, a gentleman with family, connections, his honor and reputation in tact, the type of man that Mara deserved. 

"Sano?" Mara pulled away, her eyes questioning. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Fine" Rubbing the back of her head, Sano quickly stepped away from her. "Couldn't be better." He tried to shrug nonchalantly. "I....I'd better go check...on..." He looked around praying for a way out of his own stupidity. "...those...um...medical supplies." He spun on his heel, and nearly crashed into a slender figure carrying a mountain of freshly laundered linen.

"Dammit Kenshin, you really need to watch where you're going." Sano muttered as he strode past the smaller man. 

_(Look who's talking...)_ Kenshin thought as he tried to readjust the collapsing tower of perfectly folded bandages. His face was somber as he felt the residual traces of his departing friend's chi....realizing with a start that the ex fighter was about as emotionally stable as a sumo wrestler on thin ice. _(He's not the only one whose having a difficult time this evening...)_ He smiled when Mara walked over and took half of the bandages from him, apologizing in her weary voice for the upset. Like Sano, the woman was a churning mixture of fatigue and confusion, desire and guilt, pent up frustration and half a dozen different emotions he didn't even want to hazard a guess at. _(But unlike him...she is far more adept at controlling the outward manifestations of those feelings...) _

"I hope these will last us the rest of the evening." Kenshin said blandly.

"I hope so." Mara tried not to yawn. "I guess it depends on whether or not they find anyone else in the wreckage." She turned to the shorter man and smiled. "Thank you for taking the time to wash these so carefully." Her hands ran over the expertly bleached linen. "For once, I won't dread binding an open wound with these damn fabric bandages." Mara set the bandages down on the table and carefully regarded the spry man. "You just increased the survival rate of my patients by a good twenty or thirty percent. I hope you remember that the next time Yahiko teases you about being such a laundry freak."

"I'll try to." Kenshin smiled and nodded. _(It's a rare thing to run into a person who can really understand the joys and intricacies of a well washed load of laundry.)_ "I'm glad that I could be of assistance." 

"Dr. Mogensen!" A frantic shout cut through the air. "Himura!" A young woman ran into the room, breathing raggedly. "They...they found someone...a....boy...and his mother." She bent over and tried to catch her breath. "Please...they are in....terrible pain...the boy's legs....are pinned under some wreckage..."

Mara grabbed a handful of bandages. "Make sure they don't try and move him until I get there!"

"They already have." Kenshin's sensitive ears picked up the thin wail of a child. "I'll try and control the bleeding while you prepare for surgery." He took the pile of bandages from the white faced woman and quickly sprinted towards the door. "Sano, I'm going to need your help!"

"Keep your gi on, I'm right behind you." Sanosuke grabbed a couple of blankets and followed his friend out the door.

Mara wrapped the shivering girl in a blanket, then hurried over to a bloody wash basin that serves as a prepping area. She peered down into the murky lukewarm water, her lips curling with disgust. _(Dammit...they didn't replace the water !....)_

"You!" Mara whirled around and pointed at a thin balding man who was picking his teeth with a dirty fingernail. "I want to you to take this outside, dump it out and get me some clean water!" She snapped. "Move it!" _(How utterly typical....)_ Mara's eyes narrowed into angry slits as the man complained and dawdled. 

Cursing a blue streak, she reached into a cannister containing the caustic mixture of lye and carbolic acid and began to ferociously scrub her raw, chapped hands. Hissing with pain as the chemicals ate at her already damaged skin, Mara continued to disinfect everything she could get her stinging hands on before Kenshin and Sanosuke returned with the boy and his mother. _(They've got to hurry....We're almost to the twenty four hour mark....)_ It was an unspoken understanding among 19th century doctors that after that tiny window of time had passed, the mortality rates from an amputation would skyrocket...assuring the patient a slow, painful death from systemic poisoning. _(I'll be damned if I let that happen...)_

"Mara!" Sanosuke's urgent call brought her out of her reverie in an instant. "I need your help!" The man kicked open the door and carried in a white faced woman covered in blood. "She's not breathing!" He gently set the tiny woman on the floor, wincing as he looked down at the fixed, dull green eyes. _(Dammit...I didn't make it in time...)_

"Here, let me see what I can do." Mara knelt beside the still figure, checking for a pulse. "She's in full cardiac arrest. I'm going to start C.P.R." She looked up at Sano. "Watch how I do it...I'm not sure how long my arms can hold out." 

"Okay." Sanosuke watched as the Mara adjusted the dying woman's head, then covered her mouth and exhaled deeply, causing the battered woman's chest to expand. _(What in the name of the Gods are you doing?)_ His confusion grew as Mara repeated the gesture, then laced her fingers, locked her thin arms and pressed down hard between the woman's breasts. _(Ah...I see...)_ Sano shook his head in amazement as comprehension sunk in. _(She's breathing for the poor lady...and trying to get the heart pumping again....) _

Mara closed her eyes and continued the compressions, desperately trying to ignore that burning sensation in her arms and back. "Come on dammit....Breathe!"Gritting her teeth she continued to try and force the woman's unresponsive body away from the abyss. "Breathe damn you...Breathe!" 

"Dr. Mogensen!" Kenshin shouted as he stumbled into the room with a tiny nightmare in his arms. "I need your assistance!" He ran over to the make shift operating table and tried to find something to secure the trembling boy with. "One of his legs has been badly crushed and he's lost a dangerous amount of blood." He closed his eyes for a moment, finding that his battle hardened heart had become terribly tender since becoming a father. _(The child could be Kenji's younger brother....)_ Kenshin took a deep breath and opened his eyes, determined to do everything in his power to ease the boy's pain. 

"I told them not to move him!" Yahiko stumbled to Kenshin's side, his dark eyes wild

with grief and fury. "But they didn't listen to me....they told me to get outta the way." He bent down and tried to comfort the screaming child. "C'mon now...try and hold still." Yahiko grabbed the boy's flailing arms while Kenshin tried to clean the terrible wounds that marred the tiny, white legs. "We're trying to help you pal...just try and hold still..please!" The boy screamed shrilly when Kenshin began trying a makeshift tourniquet, then began to shake uncontrollably.

"Dammit Mara hurry!" Yahiko shouted, nearly at his wits end. "We're losing him!" His weary eyes welled up with tears when the boy screamed out again, begging for the pain to stop and his mother to come and save him. _(She's not going to be able to do that...not ever again....) _ He had been the one to find the child in a twisted rail car. At the last possible second, the boy's mother had wrapped herself around her son, allowing her body to take the full brunt of the impact. _(Even so...she still managed to hold onto you until we arrived....) _Yahiko looked over at the mangled body of the boy's mother, then blinked furiously as the tears threatened to spill down his blood spattered cheeks. 

"Here, let Sanosuke and me take care of this." Kenshin said softly. He reached over and patted Yahiko on the back. "Why don't you see if Dr. Mogensen needs help disinfecting the instruments." His violet eyes were tender as he watched the young man nod and quickly turn away. _(Mara was right....this is too much for him to handle...)_ He sighed and turned his attention back to the shaking form on the table. "It's all right. " Kenshin smiled and smoothed back the boy's sweat soaked hair. "We're going to make you feel better." His hands lingered in the dark brown locks. "You're doing such a good job of being brave."

"Yeah." Yahiko's voice was gruff as staggered away from the table. "You're doing great kid." _(A hell of a lot better than me...)_ "Mara....Kenshin needs your help!"

  
  


"Dammit, I'm kind of busy right now!" Mara panted. "Why don't you do me a favor and find me some ether and make sure the saws are clean!" She groaned and tried to finish up the latest round of chest compressions. "Sano...I can't...go much longer...." Beads of sweat poured off her face...landing on the dead woman's upturned cheeks.

"You don't need to anymore." Sanosuke said quietly as he bent over and closed the woman's unseeing eyes. "She's gone."

"No!" Mara snarled, unwilling to admit what she knew to be true. "I'm not going to lose this one...not now ..." Her breath came out in ragged gasps. "She needs to make it for her boy !"

"Mara." Sanosuke caught reached over the woman's body and grasped the doctor's shaking arms."If you don't go help Kenshin...the kid won't make it either." He pulled the trembling doctor to her feet and half dragged her away from the dead body. 

"We've got a problem!" Yahiko ran up to Mara with a horrified expression. 

"What sort of problem?" Sano growled.

"This." Yahiko held up an empty bottle of ether. "We're out of anesthesia." 

"We can't be!" Mara croaked, her eyes going wide. "There has to be a spare bottle somewhere!" She stumbled over to the supply table and desperately looked around for anything to dull the boy's pain. "Yahiko! Run back to the clinic and see what you can find! She fumbled around for her keys. "I know that Dr. Genzai has some sake hidden under the bedpans."

"We don't have time." Kenshin said firmly. "By the time Yahiko returns the boy will be dead." 

"You can't expect me to operate on a child without any anesthesia!" Mara begged. "My God! He's just a baby...I can't subject him to such pain..." 

"You can, and you must." Kenshin murmured quietly. "The boy will die if you don't take the leg." He glanced down at the physician's trembling hands and sighed. _(She is utterly exhausted..._) "If you want...I can assist you." He took the woman's hands in his own and willed them to be still. "Unfortunately, I have experience in such matters."

Mara gasped and tried to shake her head. "I couldn't ask you to do such a thing!" She peered down at Kenshin's calm face and tried to explain. "It would cause you more pain...."Her red rimmed eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "You have been through so much...I don't want to make things worse..." _(Your sanity has been such a hard won thing...Kaoru would kill me if I jeopardized your mind any more than I already have....)_

"I'll be fine." Kenshin managed, deeply touched that the stern woman was so concerned about his well being. "This is different." _(Instead of causing the pain..I am trying to ease it.)_ "Let me help you...as you have helped me." A rare, real smile tugged at the corner of mouth. "Together, we will manage to get through this."

Mara could only nod her thanks. She followed the red haired man back to the table, steeling herself for what was about to happen. _(He's right...I have to do this...) _ A single tear escaped the bounds of her black lashes and fell gracelessly against her white cheek. _(Oh no....he looks like Kenji !....)_ She groaned and bent down beside the hysterical child, whispering soft words of reassurance and kissing the boy on his clammy forehead. 

"Please try and understand." Mara said sadly as she picked up a sharp curved knife. "We have to do this to make you feel better." Her hands shook slightly as she placed the cutting instrument a couple of inches above the sobbing child's knee. 

_ (Sorry Kid....)_ Sano tightened his grip on the boy's shuddering torso, then slammed his eyes shut as the curved blade bit into skin and the room erupted into anguished screams.

When night finally came, it settled on the weather beaten warehouse like a midnight

shroud...covering the ice patches and snow drifts with an eerie stillness that was somehow more disconcerting that the howling wind and pain soaked whimpers that filtered up into the winter tainted sky. This darkness was pitiless and cold, an icy void that denied the faintest hint of softness and whispered of plummeting temperatures and frost bite. 

Still, there were some that braved the cold and gloom, finding that the bone chilling wind and abandoned streets were far preferable to the garish lamplight of the hospital ward...and mercifully quieter. One man....a tall rangy shape amid the twisting shadows, ignored the winter storm all together, focusing instead on the sound of his fists biting into tree bark and the crisp scent of clotting blood and frozen tree sap intermingling.

"Dammit! " Sano snarled as he slumped down against the battered maple tree, too exhausted to throw another punch...too upset to go back inside and face the unnatural sight of a legless child. "What a fucked up mess!" He shook his head angrily, trying to forget the sound of the boy's heart rending screams. _(How can they stand it?) _He angrily kicked at a frozen patch of dirty snow, focusing on the pain in his hand instead of the grief and anger in his heart and mind. _(No wonder so many doctors are heavy drinkers....) _ Sano swore again, almost wishing for the oblivion of a sake induced stupor. _(They do it to keep from going insane...)_ A sudden sound brought him out of his reverie, reminding him sharply that there was another man struggling with what had just happened.

"Hey!" Sano stood and walked over to where Yahiko was sitting hunched over on the stairs. "You gonna be okay?" He knelt beside the younger man and tried to think of some wise or comforting words to help ease the teenager's embarrassment. "Don't worry about the whole puking bit. From what Mara told me...it happens all the time." 

Yahiko covered his face with his hands and groaned. "You guys didn't." He swallowed hard against the bile in his throat and tried not to start bawling. "Gods...Mara was right about me. I shouldn't have come." Something that sounded suspiciously like a sob drifted between his tightly clenched fingers. "I couldn't help it...seeing that poor kid screaming...and the blood and..."

"You did just fine." Sanosuke sat down beside the unusually pale teenager. "I nearly lost my dinner a couple of times myself." He tousled Yahiko's hair. "We all had a hard time in there. Mara and Kenshin are just really good at hiding it." His face grew somber as he recalled the steely look in Mara's eyes as she cut into the boy's trembling skin and the terrible gentleness in Kenshin's thin hands as he effortlessly sawed through bone. _(They didn't even blink...)_ "You have to remember that both of them are trained to handle shit like that." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed, amazed that two of the gentlest people that he knew were made of such stern stuff. "You did your best...that's all that matters." Sano nudged Yahiko in the ribs. "So buck up! We still have work to do." Cursing as his tired legs protested the change in position, Sanosuke started back inside the warehouse, then paused when he realized that Yahiko was actually trying to smile for the first time that evening. _(I wonder what brought that on ?)_

"So, are you gonna tell me what's so damn funny?" 

Yahiko winced as he tried to stand up. "You are." He ignored the pain in his aching feet and walked over to the taller man, thankful for a chance to think about something other than the little boy he'd found. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that a certain someone has been rubbing off on you." 

"Huh?" Sano's eyes widened.

"Moron." Yahiko shook his head and almost chuckled. "I'm talking about Mara. She's good for you." He glanced over at the tall man, then rubbed his blood spattered hands together in an attempt to stay warm. "Who knows, if you keep hanging around her, you might just end up a respectable member of society after all."

Sanosuke snorted. "Don't hold your breath." A spattering of airborne snow swirled around the two sleep deprived men, coating their hair and lashes with a whisper of white. "I've never wanted to fit in that way....it would be too damn boring." He took a deep breath, letting the frigid air fill his lungs and invigorate his sleepy mind. "Besides, Mara doesn't care...so why should I bother?"

"Because other people do." Yahiko said quietly. 

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sanosuke's eyes narrowed.

"It means that people have begun to notice that the two of you are...well...close." Yahiko tried to flick of a patch of clotted blood off his gi, then gave up and turned towards his friend. "People are talking...and you wouldn't like what they have to say." __

"And what exactly are people saying ?" Sano's voice was dangerously soft. 

"Um...well...you know." Yahiko shrugged and tried to think a way out of the hole he'd dug for himself. _(Tsubame was right....I should have kept my dumb mouth shut about this....)_ He risked a quick peek up at the ex-fighter and repressed the urge to high tail it back into the relative safety of the hospital. "That...you and she...are..."

"Lovers?"

Yahiko blushed. "Yeah, something like that."

"They're wrong." Sano said tightly, trying to keep his temper in check. "She is my friend...nothing more....nothing less." _(And I intend to keep it that way...even if it kills me...)_ He clenched his aching hand and sighed."I know that I have a really shitty reputation....and to be honest with ya, I deserve it. The Gods know that I've make enough stupid mistakes to last a thousand lifetimes." _(You don't grow up on the streets and walk away smelling like jasmine blossoms..)_ "But I swear on all I hold dear...on Captain Sagara's memory...that I've never treated Mara with anything but the utmost respect." Sanosuke shivered as the wind began to moan through the barren tree branches. "She deserves no less."

"You love her." Yahiko said quietly, his dark eyes boring into the older man with sudden understanding. 

For a heartbeat, Sanosuke's wind chilled features betrayed him, allowing a split second glimpse into his troubled mind and heart. Then, just as quickly, his face settled into a hard mask, replacing his naked vulnerability with a calloused facade of disinterest. Sano then turned and walked towards the hospital door, allowing the swirling eddies of snow and ice to envelop him in an icy embrace. "Look pal, if you want to freeze your ass off out here, be my guest. I'm gonna go and check on that kid." He roughly pulled the door open, not sparing a glance back at his friend.

_(That's what I thought...)_ Yahiko sighed as he followed the man inside. For several minutes, neither man spoke, each intent of sorting out their respective emotions internally. Yahiko watched as Sano helped prob up an enfeebled old woman and gently covered her with an extra blanket, then carefully smoothed back the snarled white locks that fell in disarray around her bruised little face. Sanosuke listened as the teenager tried to comfort a grieving father, amazed at wisdom and compassion he heard in the boy's unsteady voice. _(No...not a boy...)_ His mouth twisted up into a proud smile when Yahiko gave up speaking and simply held the weeping figure. _(He's a man now...and a damn good one...)_

Eventually, the two men found themselves in a dark corner of the hospital, each gazing down at the pale, stillness of a motherless boy...and the tired, somber pair that attended him. 

"How's the little guy doing?" Sanosuke whispered, praying that his deep voice wouldn't wake the child from his shock induced sleep. His face fell when Mara refused to answer...seeing in her sorrowful demeanor the unspoken answer to his query.

"For the moment, he's resting peacefully." Kenshin winced as he stood, his aching knees throbbing from the cold. " Dr. Mogensen assures me that he is in a very deep form of sleep and is unaware of his surrounding and blessedly free from pain." He carefully watched Yahiko's reaction to the news, hoping that his words brought a token of comfort to the younger man. "He's going to die...isn't he?" Yahiko's tone was bitter. 

"I'm a afraid that's a distinct possibility." Mara walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. "But now instead of being alone, cold and in pain...he's warm and safe."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" 

Mara sighed and shook her head. "Yahiko, there isn't anything else I can do for the boy. If it wasn't for Kenshin's quick thinking, he'd already be dead." She turned towards the red headed man and regarded him carefully. "Have you ever considered becoming a doctor?" 

"What?" Kenshin gaped and awkwardly plucked at a loose thread on his gi. "Honestly, Dr. Mogensen...quit being ridiculous, of course I haven't." He glanced over at weary woman and shrugged, uncomfortable with the sudden attention. 

"That's a damn shame." Mara said quietly. "Because in all my life I have never seen a man who was more suited to the task than you are." She stood there for a moment, then put her trembling hands to her side and bowed deeply. "Thank you for helping me. I am deeply in your debt." 

Kenshin just stood there, too shocked to return the gesture. In the year that he had known Mara, he had only seen her bow a couple of times...and then with extreme reluctance. He watched Sano's mouth drop open in amazement when the black haired woman repeated the ritual, thanking each of them in turn, her husky voice whispering out the formal statement of extreme gratitude. 

"You..you don't need to do that!" Yahiko sputtered. "I didn't do anything." His dark eyes widened with amazement when Mara reached out and cupped his chin. "Besides..I...well...you know...." He dropped his eyes, still ashamed that he'd vomited when the boy's amputated leg had fallen to the floor..

"I underestimated you when I called you a child.." She said softly. "You are one of the strongest, best men that I have ever had the honor to work with. I hope that in the future, you would be willing to assist me if the need arises." Mara's expression was tender as she regarded the pale eighteen year old. "You know, the first time I assisted in an operation, I passed right out on the floor. It took two nurses twenty minutes to revive me." 

"Really?" Yahiko wondered.

"Really." Mara tweaked the boy's nose. "So quit acting like a twit." 

"See?" Sano smirked. "I told you it was no big deal." 

"You should really listen to what Sanosuke has to say." Mara winked at the ex-gangster. "He really is a wise man."

"Yeah, mabey about some things." Yahiko conceded. He looked up at the tall doctor with her pretty black hair and wise grey eyes...then over at Sanosuke. "But when it comes to what really matters...he's still an idiot."

"Hey!" Sano growled. "Quit calling me that!"

"Then quit acting like one." Yahiko snipped.

"Would you two please shut the hell up?" Mara hissed in exasperation. 

"Now..now.." Kenshin tried to soothe things down. "Why don't you two go home and get some sleep. Dr. Mogensen and I will be back..."

"Oh, no you don't." Mara shook her head emphatically. "You're going with them. Kaoru and Kenji will be worried sick if you don't make it home in time for dinner." 

"Who's gonna stay and take care of you then?" Yahiko asked in between yawns.

"I can take care of myself." Mara muttered as she prodded the three reluctant men towards the entrance. _(I've been doing it for a very long time...)_ "Now, if I catch any of you within twenty feet of this hospital, there will be hell to pay. Do I make myself clear?" She was about to bid them goodbye, when her sharp eyes caught sight of Sano's bleeding knuckles.

"What on Earth happened to your hand?" Mara gasped. "Please don't tell me you got in a fight."

Sano tried to shrug nonchalantly. "It's no big deal." He inwardly winced when her steel tinted eyes darkened with what he assumed was anger. _(Hell, who am I kidding....she has every right to be pissed...)_

"It is to me." Mara whispered wearily. "Come here. Let me get it wrapped up before you walk home." She stumbled over to the supply table and selected a thing length of linen and a near empty bottle of iodine. "You've been exposed to who knows what in this miserable excuse for a hospital and I don't want infection setting in."

Sanosuke hesitated for a second, then sighed and walked over to where Mara was standing. "Look babe, you don't need to take care of this." He held perfectly still as Mara began to examine his bruised knuckles, half expecting a sharp rebuke from the woman when he flinched as her finger ran over his broken skin. "I'm sorry..." The apology died on his lips when he realized that instead of pulling away, she had simply reversed positions and was carefully touching his scarred hand, her mouth paling as she ran her finger over his split knuckle, lingering over the greenish, black bruise that was blossoming on the copper colored skin around his thumb. 

"What happened?" Mara whispered half to herself as she took in the full extent of damage to the man's bone and muscle structure. _(It's a miracle that he can even move it...let alone hold anything...)_

"I just had a run in with a tree." Sano muttered self- consciously. 

"No, that's not what I'm talking about." Mara shook her head slightly, and ran her finger over a thick keltoid scar that twisted and snaked across the man's hand. "Yahiko told me that you and Kenshin had a fight with some loon that wore a bunch of bandages." She frowned as her finger's detected several badly fused break lines in his wrist bones and wondered why no one had taken the time to properly set them. "Is he the one..." Mara looked up hesitantly and gnawed her bottom lip, wondering whether or not she should continue. "...the one that did this to you?"

Sanosuke nodded, then looked away for a second, remembering the sickening sensation of bones breaking and ligaments tearing.His hand clenched tightly....painfully, the old wounds having never properly healed, leaving it scarred, partially paralyzed. He glanced down, frowning at the dull ache that radiated from his wrist, the bands of pale scar tissue that contrasted sharply with his tanned skin, the unnatural angle of his second and third fingers. __

"Yup, this is my own personal souvenir from Shishio Makato." He smirked at the almost angry expression that settled on the young doctor's face. "The bastard did a real number on it didn't he?" Sano chuckled, resorting to his usual sarcasm to hide his lingering embarrassment over his disfigured hand. 

"Yes he did." Mara acknowledged quietly, painfully aware that her scrutiny was making Sanosuke uncomfortable. "But if I remember the story right, you still managed to carry Kenshin out of that nightmarish place, despite your injuries." She looked over Sano and smiled slightly at the rosy blush creeping up the man's cheeks. "What you did was admirable...and very brave. He's lucky to have you for a friend." 

"It's really no big deal." Sano gruffly replied, thankful that his voice sounded steady. 

"Yes it is." Mara protested slightly, still upset that anyone could be malicious enough to intentionally inflict such damage on another human being. She held up Sanosuke's hand and pointed to the split middle knuckle. "The next time you're upset...come talk to me instead of beating the hell out of some poor maple tree. Okay?"

"Aren't you going to chew me out?" Sano asked quietly, still waiting for the inevitable lecture he assumed was coming. It had been several seconds and not so much as "What were you thinking?" had escaped her lips. _(Megumi would have read me the riot act for being so careless !)_

"No. Why would I do a stupid thing like that?" Mara frowned, obviously annoyed that he had even asked the question. She ignored the surprised look on his face and turned her attention back to his hand.

In moments, the offending cut was cleaned, disinfected and bandaged, despite Sano's continued protests that he was fine. He glanced over at Kenshin and Yahiko, hoping that they weren't weren't staring as she worked on his hand, massaging the stiff muscles, then sighed and closed his eyes when she threaded her fingers through his own and pulled gently, allowing atrophied tendons to relax fractionally, giving him a measure of peace, a short respite from the near constant pain that he had lived with for years. _(Oh who cares....let em watch....)_

"I thought she wanted us to get out of here." Yahiko whispered.

"Hush." Kenshin chided. "This is more important." He pushed the younger man towards the door. _(For once...let the man have the dignity he deserves...)_

_ (I don't understand...) _The thought drifted across Sano's mind as Mara massaged his wrist bones, the ever present ache slowly dissolving under the tiny, repetitive circles. _(She's half dead with exhaustion...and still insists on taking the time to fix me up....)_ Groaning softly as she increased the pressure, Sanosuke leaned back and opened his eyelids slightly, his lashes allowing him to watch her without it seeming too obvious. _(Her hands...are so beautiful....)_ It was the only word that adequately described the alabaster hued skin and the long tapered fingers ending in softly shaped nails framed by perfect little half moons. Even cracked and sore from a mixture of overwork and the caustic chemical used for disinfection, these were the hands of a lady....soft, refined, delicate....._(So utterly unlike mine...)_

"There...that should take care of you for a while." Mara yawned.

"Thanks." Sano gingerly rubbed his bandaged hand, amazed at how much better it felt. "I owe you one Doc."

"No problem...that's what I'm here for." Another yawn nearly dislocated her jaw. "Though I'd appreciate it if you'd keep an eye on those two when you get back to the dojo." Mara peeked over Sano's shoulder at Kenshin and Yahiko. "I'm worried that they're going to have a rough time." 

"Sure thing." _(They're not the only ones who will have trouble sleeping tonight....)_ Sano thought darkly. He regarded the pale woman before him, and again fought the urge to drag her home with them. _(She'd kick my ass if I tried...)_ "Don't stay too long. Okay?"

"I'll be home as soon as I can. Now, get out of here. I have work to do." Mara said half seriously.

"Heartless woman." Sano grinned as he walked away.

"Damn straight." Mara waved as the three men departed, then turned and walked unsteadily back towards the darkened corner of the hospital where the tiny boy was sleeping, steeling herself for one final battle she knew she couldn't hope to win. 

"Dr. Mogensen." A thin police officer stepped purposefully in her path, holding out a pile of paperwork. "I've been instructed to assist you in filling out these mortality reports. If you will be so kind as to dictate the pertinent information to me...." 

"I can fill out the damn paperwork myself." Mara snapped as she snatched the offending documents. She glared down angrily at the mountain of morbid facts and figures and fought the urge to cram the papers down the officer's tight little throat. 

"How interesting. I had no idea you were so accomplished." The officer said dryly. "Most foreigners are illiterate....to say nothing of being able to write." He bent leaned over and watched the woman form the intricate kanji with the ease of a native writer.

"You're easily impressed." Mara said flatly as she jotted the time of each fatality. _(Foreigner my ass....I was born on the Marine base in Okinawa and lived here till I was fifteen...)_ Her tired face softened for a second as she thought of those happy times with her stern drill sergeant of a father and the Japanese housekeeper who had lovingly taught a gangly girl to speak and read the Japanese language. _(Who thought I would have ever used such beautiful characters to depict such an ugly accident?...) _"Now...please excuse me...I have patients to attend to." 

Resisting the urge to flip the man off, Mara stomped past the open mouthed officer and over to where the struggling boy lay sleeping fitfully. _(I've got to stay awake.....got to keep and eye....on....him....) _Fighting against a wave of fatigue, Mara took a deep breath...and tried to focus on filling out the pile of paperwork that the police had been clamoring for. _(Shit....I've always hated messing with legalities...)_. Her mouth tightened into a painful grimace as she ran her finger along the pale blue binding, trying not to think about how blue covered papers invariably brought sorrow...._(Stop!) _ Shaking her head sharply in an effort to stop that particular train of thought, she grabbed her heavy lacquered pen and began to scribble furiously. _(I can't....fall....asleep...not now....) _

A tremor ran through her mind as she attempted to keep both the horrors of her surroundings at bay as well as suppress the clamoring memories that were threatening to overthrow her tenuous hold on her sanity and sent her falling helplessly into a nightmare of her own making. _(I....can't....) _Grey hued eyes fluttered shut, allowing a weary mind to paint a new mental picture...one that wouldn't exist for over a century...one that she could never forget. 

New York City 2003

"Okay....who ordered the double Philly with extra cheese and peppers?" Mara held up a large greasy bag. 

"Yo!" Mario Gondoza called, his thin face lighting up with hunger. "Toss it here babe!"

"It's not fair!" Lashondra Williams protested sourly. "You weigh what....120?" 

"128 !" The small man patted his washboard stomach proudly. "I another gained four pounds over the holidays!" He caught the heavy sandwich and sniffed deeply. "Ahhh!"

"Like I said" Lashondra sighed she settled down to munch on a "veggie delight" minus the mayo and cheese. "It's just not fair!"

Mara grinned at the usual banter and fished out her own chicken salad sandwich. She pulled back the wrapper and started devouring the greasy concoction with gusto. _(I've not had a bite to eat since breakfast...) _If there was one thing that Mara Mogensen-Reynolds loved it was a snarfing a cholesterol ridden concoction with her best friends on a Saturday night. _(I don't know what I'd do without these guys....especially since....)_ She pursed her lips, determined not to think about her husband.

"So....how are the morbidity tables looking for this quarter?" 

Gondoza took an enormous bite and shook his head. "Up fifteen perfect." He picked a burnt pepper out of his teeth and grimaced. "Those administrative assholes over at County General put a TB case in with our HIV population again." 

"Bastards just won't listen." Lashondra viciously stabbed a stripped straw into her diet Coke. "We tell em that those poor souls can't fight off cold....let alone a mutated strain of TB that's resistant to most of our antibiotics!" 

"They knew exactly what would happen and you know it." Okita Yukishiro murmured. He pointed to his black T shirt that had the caption "TRUST NO-ONE!" emblazoned across it. "This is just the beginning....wait and see." His eyes glowered menacingly behind his brightly dyed hair. "Soon they'll be coming for us....we know too much."

Mara snorted and took a swig of her Dr. Pepper. "Right. The next thing you'll be telling us is that there's some underground cult that's using the microwave oven over at the 7-11 to try and control the weather." She put her drink down and grinned when the young phlebotomist nodded mysteriously . "I liked your sponge migration theory....whatever happened to them?"

"They're still migrating." Yukishiro huffed as he carefully checked his food for any signs of tampering. "Wait and see...." It was his favorite one liner.

"Peter, Paul and Mary!" Lashondra nudged him with her much larger fist. "You are one paranoid little bugger!" She guffawed as her "nudge" sent the diminutive man flying off his chair. "All right baby....I'm waiting!"

Gondoza cackled at the interplay....then scrammed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth. "You two....just give it up and go get a room!" He barely dodged an massive right hook (courtesy of Lashondra), then yelped as his bag of cheesy puffs were stolen (courtesy of Yukishiro). In seconds, Gondoza and Yukishiro were chasing each other up and down the doctor's lounge, filling the air with explenitives in English, Japanese and Italian as they bounded over the tables and chairs, each intent on humiliating the other. 

"All right Honey....spill it." Lashondra leaned back in her chair and regarded her pale friend with the trained eye of a clinical psychologist. She could read Mara like a map and knew that the tall woman was seriously upset about something. _(10 bucks it's about her asshole of a husband....)_

"It's Erik." Mara picked at a hangnail, then sighed and tightly folded her arms across her chest. "You were right...." She dropped her head, unable to continue.

Lashondra's face darkened with anger. _(So you finally found out that he's been fooling around...sorry babe, I saw that one coming a mile away....) _Her dark brown eyes were sad as she regarded her silent friend, knowing that unlike most women, Mara would squarely place the blame for her husband's adultery on herself. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Mara looked up and shrugged. "I don't know." She took another sip of her drink, then gave up. "It's not like I've been exactly the best wife in the world..."

"Bullshit!" Lashondra softly thundered. "You keep talking like that girlfriend, and I'm liable to go postal on you!" She slammed her fist into the table and shook her head. "I know you're not perfect...and that you put in way too many hours here with us. But that doesn't excuse the shitty way he treats you...and it certainly doesn't justify his screwing another woman behind your back."

Mara winced. _(Thank you for reminding me....)_ She wearily rubbed her eyes and looked up at the ceiling...hoping that she could keep her threatening tears at bay. "He told me that he wasn't happy....that I couldn't satisfy him the way he needed." Her voice cracked. "He told me that he doesn't want me anymore." 

"Oh Baby, I'm sorry..." Lashondra wrapped her thick arms around her thin friend and gave the quietly sobbing woman a big (albeit very gentle) hug. She sighed and looked around the small cramped room that served as a makeshift cafeteria and sleeping lounge for the chronically understaffed hospital personnel. "Is that why you've been spending the night here for the past two weeks?"

Mara nodded. "I can't....sleep in our bed...." She smiled wanly at her colleague. "That's where I found Erik and Cami..."

"Cami?" 

"His paralegal." Mara smirked. "Just turned 19 last month. Would you believe I took her to lunch for her birthday?"

"Too bad the little bitch didn't choke!" Lashondra hissed. 

"Too bad you didn't." Both women looked up in disbelief.

"Erik?" Mara whispered, her eyes wide. "What...what are you doing here?" She shakily stood and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. 

"Looking for you." Erik snapped as he put his briefcase down on the table. "I don't know why I bothered buying you a cell phone...you never answer the damn thing!"

"That's because your wife works in a hospital!" Gondoza growled as he sauntered over towards Mara. "They have an electromagnetic field that can disrupt lifesaving equipment." He popped a hard won cheesy puff in his mouth and glared at the taller man. "Not that you remotely care..."

_(You're right...I don't!)_Erik snorted and pulled out a beige folder. "Well dear, here you go." He handed it to Mara. "You'll find that the provisions I've extended are very reasonable considering the shit I've had to put up with from you." 

"Provisions?" Mara's hands shook as she opened the folder and gazed down at a blue bound set of legal length papers. _(Oh God....please don't let it be.....)_ She lifted the blank page and peered down at the formal petition for divorce. "Erik, I don't understand...why are you doing this?" Mara motioned to the half filled lounge. "You could have at least had the decency to give this to me in the privacy of my office!"

"You could have had the decency to keep your ugly mouth shut regarding our private affairs!" Erik spat, his face reddening with anger. "Don't tell me that you and that fat bitch were talking about one of your patients."

"Watch your mouth boy, or this "fat bitch" will drop kick your piddly little white butt across the room." Lashondra grinned like a madwoman and flexed one rather impressive bicep. "Believe me asshole, nothing would make me happier!"

"And nothing would make me happier that to slap this shitty little excuse for a hospital with a class action suit." Erik snipped as he fished out a pen and handed it to his wife. "Just sign the damn thing."

"No!" Yukishiro snatched the pen away from Mara. "That just what he wants you to do." He warily eyed the enraged attorney. "Trust me Doc, you want someone else to look it over just in case he's trying to screw you. I've read all about the legal loopholes that can ruin a person's life." His mouth twisted into an ironic smile. "That's how the government keeps cattle mutilations and UFO sightings repressed." 

"I don't believe this!" Erik roared. "These are the people you chose over me! You'd rather spend your time with this bunch of idiots than be with your own husband!" He found another pen and chucked it at her. "Now sign the damn papers and let me get the hell out of here!"

Mara numbly stared at the lacquered pen, unaware that Gondoza had joined the fray, adding injury to insult by spraying a fine mist of half chewed cheesy puffs over her husband's expensive suit. _(He's right....I did choose them over him....)_ She chocked back a sob and tried to read the small legal print, finding to her horror that Erik had not gone with the standard "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for requesting the divorce. __

"Erik...this isn't fair!"__

"What? Don't tell me you're upset about the "Emotional Cruelty" clause?" Erik looked down at his wife's tear stained face and shrugged his shoulder's. "What else would you call it Mara? I never see you, you won't return my calls..." He brushed his lapel and glared over at Gondoza. " Dammit, how long has it been since we even tried to talk....since we even shared the same bed?" His face distorted with fury when Lashondra loudly reminded just why his wife was reluctant to sleep with him. "You even have the gall to gossip about me behind my back!" He hatefully glared at rag tag group, knowing that they'd somehow managed to brainwash Mara into not being the woman he wanted her to be. _(She'd rather be with a stupid Japanese punk, a fat, bossy black woman and a shrimpy, little Italian bastard that's going to get one hell of a dry cleaning bill.....Fine! I've already found someone better....)_

"I'm sorry!" Mara whispered in a half dead voice. "I just needed someone to talk to." She looked up at her husband and gnawed at her bottom lip, trying not to start crying. "You're right...I have been really busy. But you've got to understand...we've had some serious problems here...all of our AIDS patients were exposed to a nasty strain of TB." Her eyes filled with tears. "They're all dying...we had to try something to try and save them...." _(I needed to do at least one thing right....)_

"You should have spent time trying to save your marriage!" There was no pity in his voice, only resigned hurt and anger. "Mara, you're too wrapped up in your career to give a shit about your me...or the life we could have had together." He smiled thinly and took of his wedding ring and put it into his pocket. "Luckily for me I finally found a woman that really appreciates all that I'm willing to do for her. A woman that actually deserves me."

"Honey?" All eyes turned as a blond woman poked her perfectly made up face into the lounge. Her delicate features screwed up with distaste as she took in the heavily stained Formica counter tops and the CDC posters that graphically depicted a host of rather nasty diseases. _(Eww....it smells funny in here!)_ She sniffed and grimaced. _(Cheesy puffs.....ugh...)_ Cami's blue eyes lit up when she saw the current object of her affection. "Erik....what's taking so long?" She twisted the hem of her blouse and demurely smiled. "I was getting worried about you."

Lashondra went ballistic. "You actually had the balls to bring that skank in with you?" She stood up and put her hands on her ample hips. "Boy, you just royally screwed yourself in the ass! Mara can countersue you on grounds of adultery....by the time she's done you'll be living in a cardboard box!"__

"I thought I told you to stay in the car!" Erik hissed. 

"Oh, Baby...." Cami's pert little mouth trembled. "Don't be mad at me....I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She shyly nestled up against her lover and sniffled. "Don't be grumpy. I promise I'll make it up to you...."

  


"BEEP!" "BEEP!" "BEEP!" The lounge suddenly went mad with as everyone's pagers began wildly chirping. Mara glanced at hers and jumped up. 

"SECURITY TO FLOOR THREE.....ALL SECURITY PERSONNEL PLEASE REPORT TO FLOOR THREE....WE HAVE A CODE 72 IN PROGRESS....REPEAT WE HAVE A CODE 72 IN PROGRESS..." Lashondra blanched and started tearing towards the door, closely followed by Yukishiro and Gondoza.

"What's going on?" Cami asked as she covered her ears. "What's a code 72?"

"It means you two need to stay right where you are!" Mara snapped as she ran out the door.

"Mara wait!" Erik yelled and angrily picked up the paperwork. "I need you to sign these!"

  


Lincoln Memorial Hospital Floor Three

  


It was quiet....way too quiet. _(Hell, half of the patient's in here are chronic TB cases....)_ Mara crouched down as the elevator opened and carefully listened to the muted sounds that drifted down the deserted hospital corridors. 

"Lashondra?" She whispered as softly as she was able, hoping like hell it wouldn't startle the armed patient. One of the hazards of being a TB specialist was the patients she worked with. Tuberculosis was a disease that delighted in poverty and neglect, cropping up among the poorest denizens of New York's slums. The majority of her patients were homeless men, three quarters of whom were also mentally ill, unable to exist in a single reality for more than a few heartbreaking moments. It made treatment of the bacteria nearly impossible until the disease had become very advanced, robbing the men of their vitality , turning strong bodies into emaciated skeletons that coughed up ruby red blood with every pain filled breath. 

"Right over here babe." Mara relaxed slightly when she heard her friend's husky Bronx accent. She crept in the direction of the woman's voice, then started when she saw who the armed man was. _(Oh, Terrence....)_ He was in his mid-fifties, over six feet tall and weighing less than 140 pounds. His naturally sharp mind had been destroyed by years of rampant drug abuse, causing him to always refer to himself in the third person, the condition aggravating his severe schizophrenia. _(He could do anything....) _She quickly looked around the empty halls _(Where in the hell is security?)_

"Terrence, do you remember who I am?" Mara smiled when he nodded and took a small step forward. "That's good." She took another step forward and smiled gently. "I know you're having a rough time....let's talk about it and see what we can do to make you feel better."

"Terrence is hearing them again!" The thin man shrieked, his bloodshot eyes roving over the nearly deserted hallway. "They came back! They're hunting Terrence!" He jerked his head towards the nearby psychologist and raised the 9mm handgun until it was level with her chest. "You said they would go away!" 

"Did you take your meds like I told you to?" Lashondra quietly asked. _(Shit...he's having visual and auditory hallucinations....)_ Her well trained eyes ran over the emaciated man's body, finally resting on the fresh track marks that ran up the entire length of both arms. "Or did you sell them for drug money?" __

"Terrence sold them." The man frowned like a little child, his expression heartbroken and sad. "Terrence needed it...." He started shaking again and closed his eyes. "They were hurting Terrence...always hurting Terrence...." 

"I know baby." Lashondra sighed. "Why don't we get you on some nice Methadone. That'll take care of your withdrawal symptoms. Then as soon as you're feeling a little better we'll get you back on your anti-psychotic medication for the schizophrenia"She took a hesitant step forward and nodded her head slightly. "I want to help you Terrence, but you have to put that gun down." 

"No!" The gangly man screamed and wildly pointed his weapon at a terrified secretary. "Get it now!" He shuddered uncontrollably, then covered his head and screamed again_,_ as the unseen things that had plagued him since childhood attacked. 

"Terrence!" Mara called out, deliberately lowering her voice until it was no more than a low, sweet croon. "We're going to order you some Methadone. It should be here in a few minutes." She looked at Lashondra and nodded slightly. "Dr. Williams and I are here to help you. "

"You're the TB doc..." Terrence squinted his eyes and took a hesitant step towards the tall woman. "You and Terrence are friends?"

"That's right." Mara smiled. "We're friends..." She held out her hands in an attempt to ease the shaking man's fears. "Remember when you came to my office and had some tea?"

"Stuff tasted like shit..." The man's scarred face crinkled up with distaste.

"Yes, I suppose it did." Mara conceded. "But the cookies weren't too bad were they?"

"Terrence liked them." He smiled a little and took another step towards her. "Can we have some more?" That had been such a nice day for him, sitting in a warm office with the pretty doctor...eating cookie after cookie. _(She likes Terrence....she trusts Terrence....)_ __

Mara turned to the teary faced secretary that her patient had been menacing. "Would you please run to my office and grab a bag of Keebler fudge stripes?" She winked at Terrence. "Those are your favorites...right?"

"Terrence likes those a lot." He shyly smiled at the woman, the sweetness of his expression at terrible odds with the loaded weapon in his shaking hands. "Terrence likes you a lot too."

Mara's smile widened. "I like you too Terrence." She slowly walked towards the taller man. "That's why I want to help you." Her hands moved in an encompassing gesture. "We all want yo make you feel better." 

The sick man rocked back and forth, his large dark hands twisting the soiled fabric of his street clothes. "Terrence fucked up Doc." He held out his arms and started sobbing. "Terrence tried to stay clean...honest to John." His body twitched violently as the excruciating withdrawal tremors continued to rip through his weak frame. "But they came back....!" Terrence looked wildly around the room, his bleary eyes radiating white hot insanity as he fired towards a flickering flourescent light. "Terrence won't let them!" He twirled around and aimed the weapon right back at Lashondra. "She said they's go away! She lied to Terrence!" 

"No..." Mara whispered sadly. "Dr Williams did her best to keep them away from you." She took another step forward, then froze as he pressed the gun barrel against her throat. "We all are trying to help you Terrence. You are important to us....we won't give up on you." Her throat tightened as she watched the trigger finger twitch erratically. "I won't give up on you." 

"You won't let them hurt Terrence?" The man's voice was laced with such hope...such fear. "They're hungry...that they are." He trembled violently as he craned his head up at the ceiling, whimpering softly as the imagined mind wraiths twirled above him, whispering all sorts of silent agonies. It had been like this since he'd been thirteen...a world that constantly melted into a nightmare of sight and sound, leaving him desolate in his madness, unable to cope with the day to day stimuli that his mother and sister took for granted. "They're always hungry..."

Mara shuddered as her patient slowly removed the gun from her throat. "We won't let them hurt you this time. Will we Dr. Williams?"

"Hell no!" Lashondra shook her head and made a fist. "I'll knock out anybody that tries to mess with my man." She carefully walked towards Terrence. "How does that sound?"

"It sounds....good." He smiled for the second time and slowly lowered his weapon onto the counter.

"Speaking of good things..." Mara looked towards the elevator and smiled. _(Either security is here or my fudge striped cookies have arrived....)_ She glanced over at the now slightly relaxed man and sighed with relief _(...at least this is finally under control....)_

The elevator opened. Mara groaned and shut her eyes. _(Oh, Shit. )_

"I was talking to you dammit!" Erik yelled as he stormed out of the elevator, Cami Henderson and her coordinating hand bag in tow. "Now quit being stubborn and sign the damn papers so we can leave this godforsaken hospital!"

"Erik!" Mara frantically shook her head and motioned that he stay back. "This is not a good time to talk." She slightly tilted her head towards Terrence. "I'm having an important discussion with my friend."

"Her friend is very sick." Lashondra said softly. "You need to turn around right now." _(Dammit man....twitch the wrong way and you and your eye candy are gonna be smeared across the back wall...)_

"Doc?" Terrence nervously ran his hands through his matted hair. "Talk to me Doc, who's this guy?" He bared his yellowing teeth and slightly crouched down, feeding off of the blond man's negative emotion like it was a living thing. "If he's a cop, I'm gonna bust his sorry ass!"

"He's not a police officer." Mara murmured soothingly. "This man is my husband, Terrence." She smiled and pointed to her irrate spouse. "His name is Erik. He's a very nice person." 

"What in the hell are you blathering about?" Erik snarled as he advanced on the couple. "Dammit Mara, quit fooling around with that ...."

  


"BANG!"

Erik staggered as something slammed into his stomach and out his back. _(What the hell?)_

He looked down, unable to comprehend why his legs had suddenly become rubbery and weak, his eyes becoming round with horror as he watched a flower shaped bloodstain blossom right in the middle of his brand new Arrow shirt. _(I've...been....shot....!....)_ The thought was somehow infuriating, an act that caused his volcanic temper to ignite. 

"You stupid son of a ....."

  


"BANG!"

  


This time he fell...hard against the unforgiving tile floor. _(He....shot....me....again....!....)_ Erik tried to stand back up....then collapsed against the cool green tile. Things were starting to become blurry...the edges around solid objects becoming soft, the high pitched screams coming from his all around him dwindling to a faint buzzing sound in the back of his mind. He swallowed reflexively as hot, bitter liquid bubbled up in his throat...then sighed and simply let the crimson gore run out of his mouth _(Why the hell not....my shirt's already in pretty bad shape....)_ Erik tried to take a deep breath as the sounds of screaming intensified....then sighed again when he found that breathing took too much work. _(Aw, screw it....)_ His blue eyes glinted with resignation as he watched the wild haired man aim the gun at him again, then slowly closed in preparation, barely registering the feeling of another person throwing her body atop his.

  


"BANG!"

  


It was different this time....the jolt not quite as powerful. _(Perhaps he missed?) _Erik forced his heavy eyelids to open again. _(Mara?)_ She was lying on top of him, her strong arms cradling his head against her chest. He sighed then, remembering a different time....._(She used to so hold me like this.....)_....a time when he knew that his wife loved him....and that he loved her, despite her flaws and shortcoming...._(It could have been so wonderful.....so perfect......)_ His face slipped into a silly half smile when he realized that his stoic wife was sobbing against his warm, wet chest, her low voice ragged with tears. _(She should have been like this earlier....)_ He tried to run his finger's through her short curly hair, then frowned when he realized that he couldn't move his hands. 

  


"BANG!"

  


This time he barely felt the bullet ripping through his wife's body. Erik smiled again as Mara tightened her arms around him, thankful that she'd finally come to her senses, that she was putting him first for a change. _(Perhaps I was overhasty....) _He shuddered softly in the embrace, his mind struggling to understand where the strangled screams were coming from and why Mara was suddenly so still...her soft breath coming out in ragged little gasps against his throat. _(She's probably still crying....do doubt because she feels guilty for treating me so badly....) _The thought brought him great comfort. His darkening eyes opened for the last time as he felt her touching his face....finding to his surprise that he could taste the sweet saltiness of her tears on his tongue, a sensation that was somehow at once both arousing and irritating...._(Just like her....)_ She was so stubborn....so bright.....so utterly unwilling to do things his way....

"You're such a stubborn bitch...." He smiled and tried to shake his head. _(But somehow....even now....I can't help but love you.....just a little.....)_

  


"I'm sorry."

  


It was all she could manage after the second shot. Mara clumsily ran her fingers over her husband's blood spattered mouth, trying to keep his airway clear, knowing in her hardest of hearts that it was far too late. _(I failed you....)_ Her teary gaze wandered over the devastated landscape of Erik's face....memorizing ever y possible detail.... the tiny blood and tissue fragments that lingered on his blond lashes, the sound of his blood soaked breathing, the half angry, half sad look in his beautiful blue eyes. She turned her head and coughed out the stringy ropes of blood that tore out from her shattered chest, knowing that even in this state, he would be upset if she bled on him. __

_ (I love you....)_ Mara mouthed the words over and over again, hoping that he'd understand that even now....even after everything that had happened....she still loved him with all her heart. _(I love you....)_ She swallowed back the rising tide of blood in the back of her throat and smiled at her husband, praying that now...at the end of things....he'd find it in his heart to forgive her for letting him down, for not being the woman that he needed her to be. Her expression changed from one of pain to one of deep sadness as she watched his breathing become more shallow, the tiny change in his pupils that indicated Death was fast approaching. _( I love you...)_ She rested her head against his neck and patiently waited....uninterested in the frantic fight for control of the handgun, the fact that Lashondra was lying dead only a few feet away, the back of her head a mangled mess of bone, blood and brain tissue, the enraged screams of Yukishiro and Gondoza as they threw themselves on the much taller man....__

Erik shuddered violently then, his strong body fighting the inevitable outcome. Mara forced her heavy head up and watched in mute horror as a mass of blood welled up out of his mouth....then flowed down the side....pooling silently in ever widening red pools. _(I'm so sorry....) _She whispered again, hoping that he heard her.....knowing that he probably didn't care....Her hands tightened into fists as the brilliant blue eyes slowly glazed over and a last shuddering breath escaped. _(So terribly sorry....) _Mara's eyes slammed shut, unwilling to endure another second of sight.

Suddenly a strange sound began to intrude upon her grief..it was erratic and weak...a whisper soft sigh that offset her ragged weeping. _(This can't be happening....)_ Mara gasped and pressed her ear against what remained of her husband's still chest. _(But it is !)_ The sound grew frighteningly familiar, each failing heartbeat driving a spike of guilt into her heart and mind, emphasizing the horror of seeing Erik's murder and her guilt at having caused it. Suddenly...the sound faltered...then stopped altogether, prompting a wave of sorrow that nearly overwhelmed her. 

_(I've lost another one...) _Mara opened her eyes....and groaned as the world around her began to twist and warp. In seconds, the green tiled floor was a mere memory....as were the cooling puddles of blood and bone splinters. She watched as Yukishiro and Gondoza evaporated into shadow....their tear stained faces becoming rough hewn walls....the sounds of their screams transforming into the mindless keening of the bitter winter wind as it slammed into an ancient tin roof. 

Mara choked back a sob as the final aspect of her nightmare began to shift back into the battered little form of her youngest patient. Tan, blood spattered skin took on an almost translucent, pale hue...Honey blond hair darkened into a dull shade of mahogany....Gone was the angry, pain filled grimace, replaced instead with a tiny blue tinted mouth that even in death held the hint of a gentle smile. _(He died in his sleep....) _Mara instinctively reached out and picked up the lifeless body, cradling the boy's head gently against her bosom. _(...thank God...) _Whispering the timeless endearments that her father had comforted her with, she held the nameless child, too tired to carry the corpse to the make shift morgue...too bereft to put the boy back down on the blood soaked futon and cover his face with a blanket. 

Outside....the winter storm raged on, mindlessly covering up the remains of the train wreck...and muffling the sounds of a tired woman weeping. 

______________________________________________________________________________Coming up in the next chapter....

Well, to be perfectly honest with you...it hasn't been written yet. *Blushes* Leave me some ideas in your reviews and I'll see what I can do !

______________________________________________________________________________

_Thanks to all those that reviewed this chapter..._

_Firuze, Vesca, Imbrium, Hana Himura, Conspirator, Carter, Ice Angel, Wavewalker, Mad Melma, Kyrannos, Nemo, Supernaturallove, Marstanuki, Midori, Eillwony, Nightrain, and Fujifunmum._

_A VERY SPECIAL NOTE OF THANKS GOES OUT TO THE FOLLOWING THREE PEOPLE:_

_Imbrium - Who suggested that there needed to be some male bonding (I hope you like what I did) and drew the most BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF MARA. (Thank you so much!!!!)_

_Firuze - Who took the time to help me overcome another nasty round of writer's block and made me realize that YES, the political discussions must take place and I need to push myself as a writer. If you haven't taken the time to read her story, Moonlight Shining Over Snowfield_s, _I suggest that you do so._. _It is an excellent, well researched and addictive literary delight._

_DARK AGENT (AKA my wonderful husband)_ -_ Who came up with an ingenious solution and enabled me to post this much sooner. _

______________________________________________________________________________ 

Author's notes and rants....

1.) Mortality figures for amputations in the 19th century were remarkably high considering the utter lack of modern sanitation and antibiotics. In most cases, it hovered around 20% up until the second day from the time the injury occurred. After that time, the fatality rates skyrocketed to 50% and by the 48 hour mark, death due to systemic infection was almost a certainty.

2.) The ballpoint pen was first patented in 1831. 

3.) In 1872 , the Meiji government abolishes the Kingdom of the Ryukyus and establishes the Ryukyu Han (feudal clan). In 1879, Japan invaded Okinawa and sent troops to occupy the Shuri castle this period began the the forced Japanization of Okinawa. The last King of the Ryukyu's, Tai Sho was exiled to Tokyo and a Japanese appointed governor was put in his place as head of the reformed Okinawa. In order to make the Ryukyus an integral part of Japan, although opposed by the hereditary lords of the Ryukyus, Meiji abolishes the Ryukyu Han and sets up Okinawa Prefecture. (A big thanks to Firuze for helping me with these details....)

4.) Okita Yukishiro is none other than Enishi's great grandson. In subsequent chapters, you will see that this man played an integral role in sparing Mara's life and helping her get back to Japan.


	9. The Ties That Bind Part Three

_Let's see...this chapter is rated PG-13 for language (blame Sanosuke_), _mental rambling of a decidedly sexist and sexual nature (blame Edward) and some unapologetic political discussion (blame me). Chapter nine ended up being over thirty pages long....so for the sake of you wonderful readers..(and my rapidly diminishing sanity) I decided to post it in two parts....The first being what you are about to read. The second part (which is nearly finished....I promise) will be posted next Monday. _

_Chapter Nine (Parts A and B) have been the most difficult to write thus far, because they are very transitional, cover a lot of material...and contain some very pivotal moments between Mara and Sanosuke. I hope that you will overlook any roughness in the writing and understand that some chapters are inherently going to be less interesting than others. _

_This chapter has been brought to you by the Letter W, the Number_ _4, and the help of Dark Agent, Firuze, and Nemo (all of whom patiently encouraged me to keep trying to make these chapters a little bit better...and a lot less contrived.)_

  


AS TIME GOES BY

CHAPTER 9-A

THE TIES THAT BIND PART 3

Ten Blocks Away From Home

"No..no...dammit." Sano sighed patiently and tried again. "The guy wasn't a Spaniard, he just dressed like one. He was from Egypt...I think." He rubbed his stubbly chin and tried to remember. 

Yahiko's head hurt. "So what in the hell was he doing in Scotland?" 

"I have no idea." Sano shrugged. "I guess he was just up there giving lessons to some pissy Scotsman."

Kenshin rubbed his tired eyes. What was his technique?"

"That's the funny part." Sano stopped in the middle of the street. "The man was obsessed with trying to teach me how to lob off people's heads...honestly, that's all he ever talked about."

"Liar." Yahiko huffed under his breath.

"Hey now..I'm serious!" Sano protested. "The guy had the damn nicest katana I've ever laid eyes on." 

"Wait just a damn second." Kenshin actually swore. "You expect us to believe that an Egyptian, dressed as a Spaniard, living in Scotland carried a Japanese sword ?"

"I swear to the Gods." Sano held his hand up piously. 

"Liar." Kenshin and Yahiko said in unison, then walked away shaking their heads. 

_(I don't understand...)_ Sano crinkled his nose against the cold. _(Mara couldn't get enough of that story...)_ He had been pleasantly surprised when the normally restrained doctor had burst into laughter and spent the rest of the evening humming strange melodies written by a queen. _(At least she believed me...)_ Sighing against the injustice of the moment, he picked up his pace and in no time was once again walking alongside the two shorter men.

"Hey." Sano said casually. I was thinking..."

"Will miracles never cease?"

Without missing a step, Sanosuke sent the wise cracking youth headfirst into a snow covered mulberry bush, then turned his attention back to Kenshin (who was doing his level best to be the wise, non-giggling neutral party_). _"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted._..._" He glowered at Yahiko for a moment, then continued. "I was thinking that it's been a damnably long time since we've done any thing like this."

Kenshin pulled his patched up coat around his deceptively fragile shoulders and nodded. "You're right...it has been a while." He looked up at the half hidden moon, slightly ashamed that such a tragedy had been the catalyst for such meaningful interaction between himself and his friends. "I'm glad I had the chance to spend time with the two of you again....though I wish it had been under far less somber circumstances."

"No shit." Sano nodded gloomily. "Tell you two what...the next time we want to shoot the breeze...let's just go to the Akabedo." He frowned as his empty stomach seconded the motion. 

"At least there we wouldn't have to shout over the sounds of people screaming." Yahiko said quietly, still shaken at seeing such mindless suffering.

Kenshin nodded slightly, aware that the boy was still ashamed of his reaction to seeing a field amputation for the fist time. _(I'd best change the subject....)_ He thought for a moment...then turned to Sanosuke, determined to steer the conversation towards far less macabre matters. 

"That reminds me....you never finished telling me that story from the other day."

"The one about the Egyptian?" Sanosuke said curiously. _(Now...where in the hell did this come from?)_

"No...the one where you were lost in the cornfield." Kenshin quickly corrected, eager to avoid that particular tall tale all together. 

"Cornfields?" Yahiko wondered.

"It's a crop they grow over in the States." Sano held up his hand over his head. "Gets about this high..and has the damn tastiest stuff growing on it." He winced as his stomach grumbled again. "Anyway, there I was wandering through this stupid field...hopelessly lost..."

"Now, there's a big surprise." Yahiko muttered under his breath.

"Kiss my ass." Sano muttered. "Like I was saying before the kid interrupted me for the second time this evening....I was in this field, wandering around looking for a way out, when I stumbled out into a clearing." His hands silently created hills and gentle sloping valleys while he attempted to describe a riotously green country littered by small what memorial markers and weeping willows covered with hanging moss. 

"I'm telling you...in all my wandering, I've never seen such a beautiful spot of land..._(Or such a sad one...)_ Sano dropped his hands to his side as he remembered the mixture of awe and horror that had filled him when he'd realized that the stones covering the verdant landscape marked where the bodies of a dead soldiers rested in the fertile dark soil. 

"What was the name of the place?" Kenshin asked curiously.

"Arlington....I think. From what I understood, it used to belong to some guy who fought for the southern rebels." Sano folded his arms tightly against his chest in an attempt to keep out the chill. "The government took his farm and land and started burying dead soldiers in the guy's wife's rose garden." He shook his head darkly. "Now that was a fight I'm glad I missed out on."

"I find that hard to believe." Yahiko said dubiously. 

"Believe it pal." Sano rubbed a hand over his stubbled chin. "I like a clean fight as much as the next man...but that...that was just slaughter...plain and simple. Grimacing against the chill, he shook his head.. "I saw some of the weapons that they used in that war...and lemme tell you kid, they were nothing that you'd even want to mess with. Those guys used bayonet rifles, Gatling guns, cannons...hell, they even had iron boats that swam like fish."

"Katsura mentioned the incredible advances in military technology." Kenshin said quietly, remembering half whispered conversations and ideas from two decades before. "The government brought officers over from America to help modernize the Japanese Army." 

"Yeah...that doesn't surprise me a bit." Sanosuke spat, his face darkening with anger. "Only this government would be so half assed as to want to bring in the worst parts of another country, and completely ignore the best. They should have tried importing some of the ideas that are floating around over there..instead of new ways to kill people." 

"Ideas can be far more dangerous than bullets." A small bitter smile stole across Kenshin's thin face. "Remember Sanosuke...that it was ideas that were the catalysts behind both the Bakamatsu and the American war...simple, harmless thought patterns." He nimbly hopped over an icy skiff of snow and picked up his pace, suddenly eager for the warmth of home and the quiet conversation of his wife. " Those in power...fear human thought more than any invading army."

"But it's not all bad!" Sano protested loudly, miffed that Kenshin (as usual) was managing to see the dark aspects of everything new and exciting. "C'mon...there's good shit out there...like freedom of the press...and being able to vote some crooked bastard out of office without worrying about getting your ass thrown into the clinker...or worse." The tall fighter shoved his cold, chapped hands deep into his threadbare pockets. "I saw it Kenshin....I watched ordinary people...like you and me change laws and make things better." He grinned slightly and winked at Yahiko. "Hell, in some of the western territories they even let their women vote and hold office. "

Yahiko cackled and chucked a snowball at his imaginative friend. "And here I was thinking that nothing could top that tall tale about the fighting Spaniard." He looked over at Kenshin and rolled his eyes. _(Honestly...the idea of women being political....)_

"Narrow minded brat." Sano sniffed. "And for the last time...He only dressed like a Spaniard!"

"Whatever." Yahiko muttered as he tried to mimic Kenshin's ability to hop over ice sheets and nearly fell on his butt. "You keep this up and everybody's going to think you had one too many swigs of the sake bottle."

"You don't believe me?" Sano shouted, as he began forming what could only be described as the snowball from hell. "Ask Mara...she'll back me up!" He tossed the icy missile at the teenager, then swore when Yahiko dodged behind Kenshin in a last ditch attempt at human preservation, condemning the diminutive redhead to a mouthful of slushy snow. _(Oh shit...)_

"Hey man....you all right ?" Sano bent down and gingerly brushed the worse of the snow clumps out of his dazed friend's hair. "I was aiming for old yellow belly." He shot a nasty look of reproach at Yahiko.

"Kiss....my.....frozen...ass." Yahiko snarled through chattering teeth as he tried to wipe the snow from his eyes. 

"I thought that was Tsubame's job." Sano crooned wickedly.

Kenshin closed his eyes and started counting. _(One......two......) _

"Why you rooster headed, moronic whore son of a diseased water buffalo!" Yahiko's black eyes shot sparks as he leaped at the guffawing ex-gangster. _(Three.....)_

  


Slightly North of the South Tokyo Train Terminal

  


_(Just you wait old man....) _Edward Thornton thought as he caught a passing glimpse of a white haired farmer standing in a snow covered field, his amusement growing as he watched the wizened figure shake his fists angrily at the steam locomotive as it thundered by, indignant that such a mechanical monstrosity had been unleashed on the peaceful Japanese countryside. _(The best is yet to come....) _

Pale blue eyes roved possessively over the white, snowy landscape, his mind transforming the tranquil farms and forests into teeming cities filled with silk factories and shipping warehouses....industrialized Meccas that would one day rival the soot clogged cities of his native Britain. _(I will be at the helm of this transformation....)_ Edward's smile was triumphant as he contemplated his rosy future. _(.....And bask in the harvest of my labors...._)

"Next stop.....South Tokyo Train Terminal!" The conductor called out, his announcement causing the first class passenger cabin to buzz with activity. Edward simply nodded, then returned his attention to the panorama that was rushing past his window, his thoughts once again straying back to towards acquisitions and mergers and the inevitable wealth that followed such transactions. One possible transaction had lately filled his thoughts, a particularly tricky venture that was fraught with risk....and intoxicating with its proffered reward. 

_(It would be a challenge of the highest caliber, a true test of my skills)_ The predatory side of the Englishman's personality relished the upcoming conflicts and mandatory maneuvering that such an action necessitated, while his other half decried even the thought of such a thing, reminding him with surprising sharpness that the reward in question was not a piece of fertile farmland.....but an honorable woman, that his competition was not a rival company......but a good man who considered him a close friend and trusted confidant. Edward's tranquil smile evaporated as he considered the likely ramifications of failure....not only would he lose the respect of two people he genuinely was fond of, but would also be the likely recipient of a severe beating....if he was lucky.

_(Oh, but think of what I'd gain if I succeeded......The woman I'd possess.....)_ His groin tightened with anticipation as he imagined Mara Mogensen at his side, richly clothed in the latest Parisian fashions....and in his bed, her supple body providing him with endless pleasure. _(Bloody hell.....I've not wanted something this badly for ages.....)_ Desire danced through his veins, banishing any lingering doubt with the delicious numbing agent of justification. Edward casually pulled on his bleached, white gloves and reached for his leather attache case. _(In time she will see that it's for the best.....that I can give her everything she could possibly desire....)_ He waited patiently for the train to come to a complete stop, then fluidly rose and made his way down the aisle, suddenly eager to see whether the tall doctor was waiting for him as he'd requested in the letter he'd sent her two weeks prior. 

She wasn't. Edward scowled, his features darkening with disappointment as he scanned the busy terminal, his excitement rapidly giving way as he realized that the only person who seemed the least bit interested in him was a greying station attendant shivering from the bitter cold.

"Well, don't just stand there man!" He snapped irritably. "If you have business with me, I suggest you make it known or get out of my sight." 

_(Gods...what an asshole....)_ The old man smiled brightly and tipped his cap. "I have a letter addressed to a Mr. Edward Thornton. May I assume that you are that individual?" 

"You may." Edward snatched the letter from the older man's hand without a word of thanks and walked back towards the baggage compartment. 

"Take care with that trunk!" He shouted as he sprinted towards two men struggling to lift down a large, padlocked traveling case. "If there is so much as a dent on my luggage, I will personally see to it that you both are terminated from your employment!" _(I really should hire a man servant....I hate having to deal with such tedious matters when I travel....)_ Edward thought as he carefully watched the rest of his luggage unloaded from the train, careful to keep his expression severe lest the baggage handlers get the impression he was going to give them a tip for such clumsy work. After a seeming eternity of badgering, he and his belongings were safe and secure in a carriage and on their way back to his hotel suite. _(And that is where I shall be headed once I figure out who sent this blasted letter....)_

Glancing down at the nondescript envelope, he snorted in annoyance. _(First I had to endure the indignity of sharing a seat with a fat woman and her disgusting bulldog....then was forced to wait for nearly an entire day because of an annoying train derailment...)_ He rolled his eyes, almost wishing that the backwater Orient could instantly modernize itself...and spare him the discomfort of having to do it all himself..._(I never knew that being a progressive man was so taxing on the system....)_ His ruddy lips curled downwards into a pout when he opened the letter and quickly scanned the contents, finding to increasing displeasure that small, precise paragraph was from the woman he'd been thinking of.

  


_Dear Edward, _

_ I'm sorry that I couldn't meet you at the station...but I'm up to my eyeballs in bandages. _

_ Talk to you soon...and welcome back to Tokyo._

_ Your friend, Mara._

Edward carefully folded the letter and placed it in his breast pocket. _(How utterly typical...I should have known that some trifle of an emergency would take precedence over the reasonable request of a dear friend.....)_ While he was willing to overlook many of Mara Mogensen's flaws...her insistence on putting her career before all other matters was simply intolerable. _(The first order of business will be to properly train her regarding her place in society....) _

Pulling his fur lined coat around him, he sighed deeply, thankful for his limitless patience when it came to his future spouse's idiosyncrasies. _(She'll need a firm hand to guide her back into proper domesticity....)_ He smiled with feral ease, anticipating the taming of such a wild, headstrong creature. _(Naturally, I'll remove her from this place...and the unwanted elements who only encourage her irrational independence....)_ It went without saying that a certain dark eyed man would be the first to be parted from her company. __

_ (I'll consider allowing her lovely oriental friend to still associate with her....considering how fond Mara is of the woman's child....)_ He reached into his lapel and pulled out a imported cigarette. _(But not that little read headed fellow....)_ For some reason, his attempts at charming Kaoru's slightly built husband had met with repeated failure. _(From what Sanosuke says...the man is quite an accomplished swordsman....)_ Doubt blossomed in his mind as he recalled how fond the man was of performing menial duties...._(Laundry no less!)_....and dismissed the statement as a product of Sano's rich imagination. _(No....I consider myself an excellent judge of character....and am quite sure that no respectable soldier would ever stoop so low...)_

Lighting one end of the slender cigarette, Edward inhaled the complex blend of imported tobacco, enjoying the warmth that filled his lungs and made his heartbeat quicken despite the bitter cold. _(I wonder what possessed Miss Mogensen to board with such an unorthodox family....)_ He'd asked her about it once, pointing out that there were many hotels and even several boarding houses that catered to respectable Europeans. _(She simply replied that they were her friends...and that she'd made a promise to protect them....)_

Taking in another lung full, he shook his head fondly...amused that such a sweet,

intelligent woman could be so silly. _(Woman are...and always will be the weaker sex...in need of protection and guidance...)_ Edward closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, filling the small cabin with lazily circling smoke. _(...They have neither the sternness of mind, nor the strength of character to endure the rigors of battle or the sight of spilt blood...)_ He took another drag of the nearly depleted cigarette, sincerely hoping that the black haired woman wouldn't suffer the indignity of fainting while she applied bandages to the accident victims._ (As soon as I set things straight between us, she'll be able to properly focus on the things that every woman longs for....children to fawn over.... a home and staff to manage....)_ He flicked the smoldering butt out the window...then leaned back against the richly upholstered carriage wall. _(...and a husband to serve...)_

  
  


Five Blocks Away From Home__

"..I don't know about this...." The policeman peered suspiciously overat the snow

covered men standing beneath a half lit lamppost. "I'd be more than happy to let you three scamps cool your heels off in a cell for a couple of days." He bristled his mustache imperiously at the tallest of the three ruffians, hoping for a chance to wield his new and improved wooden stick. 

_(I'd like to see you try you knock kneed excuse for a cop...)_ Sano thought nastily as he slowly extended his middle finger the way Mara had taught him. _(I'd like nothing more than to shove that piddly excuse for a billy club so far up your ass you'll be picking splinters outta your tongue for a week...) _

"What's that supposed to mean?" The policeman pointed to Sano's defiant middle finger.

"That you're number one." Sanosuke said in a deadpan voice.

Yahiko (who was more than familiar with Mara's favorite obscene gesture) tried not to giggle...and failed...miserably.

Kenshin fought against the urge to bang his head against the lamppost. _(I really must have a talk with Dr. Mogensen about teaching these two those strange foreign hand signals....) _ "Once again, I apologize for slight disruption. We were just on our way home and got a little distracted." He glanced over at Sanosuke and allowed the faintest hint of amber to bleed into his calm violet gaze. "Isn't that right?"

Sano snorted. "Yeah...I s'pose." __

Yahiko assumed his most innocent expression. "We didn't mean to make so much noise."

Kenshin nodded sorrowfully. "It was a regrettable incident that does not bear repeating."

Sano shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say ? Shit happens."

_(Why did I ever let my mother convince me to become a policeman....)_ The henpecked officer sighed bitterly...wondering what sinful act in a previous life had condemned him to a career of dealing with mentally deficient citizens who insisted on having snowball fights in the middle of the night.

"All right...I'm going to let you off with a warning." He stuck out his caved in chest hoping that it made him look far more impressive than he felt. "But if I so much hear that you startled a stray cat there will be severe repercussions." He glared up at the brown haired man. "Do I make my self clear?"

"Yes sir." Kenshin grabbed Yahiko by the scruff of his gi and started walking.

"Okay." Yahiko smiled brightly, thankful that jail time had been averted.

Sano took the time to let the officer know that once again...he was number one, then turned and followed his friends down the street. 

"I still say we should have let that cop take Sano to jail." Yahiko grumbled as he gingerly touched the bruise that was forming along his jawbone. "After all...he was the one who started it."

"Quit being such a boob." Sano rubbed his sore nose, thankful it was no longer bleeding. "The only reason we attracted that cop was because you were too scared to face me like a man."

"Now...now..." Kenshin tried to calm the bickering men. "Let's just let bygones be bygones and call it a night."

"Oh...don't act all innocent." Sano cuffed Kenshin on the shoulder. "Who was the one who was using the top of the post office as a launching pad for those damn painful ice balls?"

A wicked twinkle could be detected in the smaller man's eye. "I can hardly be blamed for finding the best possible strategic position in which to defend myself." Kenshin said sweetly, enjoying the happy memory of nailing his loud friend right in the middle of the forehead. "Still, the officer was right...we were acting irresponsibly."

Yahiko nodded. "Yeah...can you even imagine what Kaoru and Tsubame would have done to us if they found out we'd ended up in jail?"

Kenshin's nodded somberly. "It would have been...." He inwardly winced as he imagined how his beloved spouse would react to his unfortunate incarceration. "...unpleasant."

Sano threw back his head and laughed. "Oh...you two are something else!" He chuckled mirthfully, ignoring the dark looks from his friends. "If this is what happens to men when they get all domestic and shit, then I thank the Gods that I am unattached."

Yahiko shot Sano a look that could have sent Shishio Mokoto running for cover. "You say that now...but I'll bet you twenty yen that once you finally settle down you won't be in such a big hurry to make a damn fool of yourself either."

Sanosuke's jaw hardened into a tight line. "Look pal, I already told you that I'm not planning on settling down with anybody...and even if I did....I wouldn't let a woman boss me around and tell me what I could or couldn't do with my time..." 

_(That's what he thinks) _Kenshin smiled and continued to hop over ice skiffs with deceptive ease.

_(What a moron...he'd kiss a sea snake on the mouth if Mara asked him to....)_ "You sure don't know a lot about women."Yahiko walked smugly alongside Kenshin. 

"You wouldn't know what to do with a woman if she sat on your face." Sano snipped peevishly, wishing that the line of conversation wasn't quite so domestic.

"Yes I would!" Yahiko snapped as he frantically tried to figure out what the more experienced man was talking about. 

"That's enough of that." Kenshin said firmly, determined to end this particular discussion before it began. _(Gods....next time there's a train wreck...I'm taking Kenji with me...heaven knows he'd be better behaved....) _"Now...let's hurry home before everyone starts to worry." 

Several minutes later, Yahiko turned to Kenshin with a strange...almost expectant expression. "Do...do you think..that...they'll be waiting up for us?" _(Do you think that SHE'LL be waiting up for ME?) _He glanced down apprehensively at his vomit and blood stained clothing.__

Kenshin nodded slightly, seeing in the young man the unspoken worry . "Of course....they always wait for us to return safely home." He ignored Sano's sarcastic sigh and continued to walk. "Don't worry about the state of your clothing...Tsubame won't even notice the blood stains."

"It's not the blood stains that I'm worried about." Yahiko muttered under his breath, still mortified that he'd vomited when the boy's bloody stump of a leg had fallen to the floor. He winced inwardly, expecting at best a pithy jab from Sanosuke...or at worse...a look of disappointment or pity from Kenshin. "I don't want anybody to think...to think...that I...." 

"It's all right." Kenshin whispered as he placed his small hand on the boy's shoulder. "You have nothing to be ashamed of Yahiko...nothing at all."

"Easy for you to say. You didn't barf all over Mara's skirt." Yahiko muttered, his face going red with pent up embarrassment. "I thought I could handle seeing that stuff...I thought I was strong." His voice was a study in self reproach. 

"Listen dummy, cause I'm only going to say this once." Sano gently grumbled as he stepped over a icy puddle, taking care not to slip. "There's more than one way to be strong." He glanced down at his bandaged wrist and tried to explain. "I know that hanging around and taking care of everybody is about as fun as a smooching a toothless hooker. But that doesn't mean that it isn't important...and it sure as hell isn't easy. Lemme tell you, I tried to watch that crazy kid for an afternoon and he damn near kicked my ass!" 

"Quit exaggerating." Yahiko rolled his eyes, amazed that the cocky fighter wasn't teasing him. "He's not that bad."

"I'll try and remember that the next time I step into one of those twisted little tiger traps that he keeps digging." Sanosuke groused. "My point is...that you're as tough as you need to be. Now, for the love of my frozen butt...let's get home. I'm starving." 

Kenshin shivered and tried to keep his teeth from chattering. "You're always starving." He nimbly dodged a friendly right hook, once again enjoying the rare chance at interacting with his two best friends. "It's a miracle you didn't wither away during your travels." 

"You have no idea." Sano sighed and patted his taunt stomach. 

Kenshin rolled his eyes and nimbly hopped over a frozen skiff of snow. "Gods, you really are a piece of work."

"I know...I really am." Sanosuke said smugly. 

"Hey rooster, you really didn't mean it when you said that you never wanted to settle down right? " Yahiko asked as he rubbed his icy hands together in an attempt to stay warm. "I mean...you're finally home...and well...I thought....that..you....and....well....Mara might...." He faltered when he saw an unhappy look on the older man's face that sent a filament of worry into the teenager's heart. "You are gonna stay here...right?"

"I don't know...for the time being I guess." Sanosuke rubbed the back of his head and pretended to be entranced with a remarkably boring snow drift. He glanced over at Yahiko and sighed, knowing that his answer wasn't what the younger man wanted to hear. _(He's worried that he's going to be ditched all over again....Can't say that I blame him....He knows its only a matter of time before the damn government whisks Kenshin off on another errand and he's left alone to take care of Kaoru and Kenji...) _

An afterthought brought him up short._(...At least Mara's here now to help Kaoru...hell, she loves Kenji like he was her own kid...) _For some reason, his mind suddenly conjured up an image of his stern friend laughing and playing with a passel of brown eyed, curly haired children, a mental picture that was at once incredibly enticing....and scarier than being on Saitou Hajime's shit list. _(Okay...where in the hell did that come from ?...)_ Sano nervously shook his head, dispelling the domestic vison. _(Sagara Sanosuke is an ass kicker....not a diaper changer...... Period!...)_

"You can't be serious!" Yahiko said incredulously. "C'mon...don't give me that. You're not going anywhere again...now that you've met Mara..." His jaw dropped when Sanosuke gave him a sour look and muttered something about not being nosy. "Oh, my hell...you are!" Turning towards his stubborn friend, he tried to be the voice of mature reason (which was a challenge, considering his pants were spattered with barf and sopping wet from landing in a puddle). "Gods, Sano....you've got everything going for you!"

Sanosuke sighed and flicked off a lonely snowflake that had settled on his cold nose. _(That's easy for you to say....you've got a job and a decent reputation.....)_ "Look kid, not everybody is meant to settle down..okay?" He looked over at Kenshin and hoped that his pal would back him up on this one. "There are just some people who aren't cut out for that sorta thing...and I'm one of em."__

"You could be...if you wanted to." Yahiko said grumpily, disheartened that his friend could so causally think of abandoning them all so easily. _(Is that what it means to grow up....to be willing to leave behind the ones that love you ?) _His mood took a turn for the worse when he recalled the care he'd seen in Mara's face as she'd bandaged Sano's hand...as well as the numerous times he's watched Kaoru bid Kenshin farewell, then quickly retreat to her bedroom where her tears could flow freely. _(Well...I'm not going to be that way...I don't care what anyone thinks....)_ A steely resolve settled on his weary heart as he listened to Kenshin and Sanosuke discuss where the fighter had been...and still had a desire to travel to. _(...I will become strong....just in my own way...and I'll be damned if I ever leave my family like these two morons seem hellbent on doing !) _

"You know...you're probably right." Yahiko's voice was as hard as ice and colder than the wind whistling around them. "Mara's had enough trouble dealing with selfish bastards to last a lifetime." 

"Keep it up kid, and you're going to find yourself head first in another snow drift." Sano growled menacingly. "I'm not in the mood to listen to lectures from a boy who's never set foot outside of Japan."

"When have I ever had the time to go anywhere?" Yahiko shouted, eyes blazing. "I've always had to take care of the people you two leave behind!" He glared over at the two shocked men, too cold, angry and downright exhausted to think about what he was saying....too upset about the government letter that he and Mara had burned three days earlier to hold back his emotions. _(Sooner or later Kenshin's going to find out that they want him to go to China....)_ The thought made him sick. _(Look what happened the last time I was left to take care of things....Kaoru nearly died!) _"It's not fair for you to just up and leave when you have people who you promised to protect!"

"True enough." Kenshin said softly, trying to dispel the anger circling around the three men. "And believe it or not, we don't relish leaving those people we love." A wistful, sad smile settled on his face. "At times, sacrifices must be made to protect the ideals we treasure and the people that we hold dear." With infinite care, he reached over and clasped Yahiko on the shoulder. "You willingly stayed here and cared for _our_ family in my absence. For that...and many other things I will always be indebted to you." His eyes welled up as he considered the slender young man he had long considered to be an adopted son. "Please know that I would never willingly leave Kaoru or Kenji....or you...unless I knew that it was absolutelynecessary_._"__

Yahiko bent his head, suddenly ashamed of his outburst. "I....I'm sorry." He whispered.

"I had no rightto say such things to you." 

"You had every right." Kenshin whispered raggedly. "You have given up so much to protect my wife and son. You declined both a military commission and Yutarou's repeated invitations to attend college in Germany." His hand tightened on the boy's shoulder. "I hope that I can make it up to you some day."

"There's nothing to make up." Yahiko mumbled. "Just try to stick around for a while...at least until Kenji isn't such a pain in the ass." 

"I think that won't be a problem." Kenshin said in his most reassuring tone. "Unless I am very much mistaken, the government no longer has need of my services. Would you believe that I haven't been contacted by them for nearly a year now?" He smiled, hoping that this would negate Yahiko's concerns. "Now, why don't we hurry home and see what Kaoru fixed for dinner. If I remember correctly, Tsubame mentioned something about helping her fix your favorite meal."

"Yeah...that...sounds like a good idea." Yahiko said flatly, not daring to look Kenshin in the eye. _(Gods....when he finds out that Mara and I have been lying to the government about his ability to travel...)_ A deep shudder ran through his chilled body, one that had nothing to do with the freezing temperatures. _(I'm afraid that he'll never forgive me....)_

_(Shit...I wonder if I was ever this moody when I was his age ?)_ Sano thought as he watched Yahiko turn away from Kenshin and walk dejectedly down the street. _(Probably not....I was too much of an asshole to care about anybody but myself.....) _"Hey..kid." He called out, determined to improve his friend's unusually somber mood. "Cheer the hell up...or I'll kick your butt!"

"I'd like to see you try." Yahiko muttered . 

_(I wonder what's troubling Yahiko so terribly...)_ Kenshin thought as he effortlessly wove between ice covered cobblestones and treacherous puddles. _(Perhaps I should ask Kaoru if she is aware of any difficulties...)_ While he wasn't normally one to pry...he could tell that the younger man was deeply distressed about something. Kenshin pursed his lips together for a moment....then sighed and pushed open the rusty gate to his home. _(...She always knows just what to do to make things right....)_

The Tokyo Rose Imperial Hotel (Room 25)

The faint hiss of silk bed sheets against his bare back roused Edward from sleep.__

Resisting the urge to groan, he grudgingly rolled over and covered his eyes with an expensive imported pillow...his head pounding from a hangover that he knew from experience would only get worse as the night progressed. _(It's that bloody sake...that's what did it...)_ Edward inhaled deeply, enjoying the residual trace of musky female perfume that lingered in the richly brocaded fabric. _(Still...I shouldn't complain....not after the night I had....)_

Not long after arriving back to his lavishly decorated suite, he had sent for a pleasure woman....one that was untouched. _(I like them better that way....it makes the experience of_ _taking them that much more enjoyable...) _His fancy for bedding virgins of was a pricey one...yet one he willingly paid. _(After all...one can't be too careful in these climes...)_

Lifting the pillow from his face, Edward glanced over at the spot where the young girl had been lying only a few hours before, unsure whether to be angry that her maiden's blood had stained the silky sheets...or proud that he had been the one to shatter the thin barrier between innocence and carnal knowledge. __

_ (She was a delightful girl....well trained in the arts of pleasing a man...and willing to let me do whatever I wanted with her...)_ Laying back against the numerous cushions, he sighed and tried to find some spark of enthusiasm within his jaded mind. _(Still....she wasn't enough to truly satisfy me...) _Lately, he had found that these couplings, while enjoyable were no longer providing him the intense pleasure that he craved. _(I need a woman who is my equal...both in race and intelligence...a woman worthy of bearing my name and my offspring...)_

A tremor of desire ran through his body at the thought. _(Who would have thought that I'd find such a creature in this Godless land ?) _He had been wary when Sanosuke had told him of foreign doctor...a woman with eyes the shade of stormy London skies. _(I thought him guilty of overstating her value...when in reality, the fool underestimated her worth by miles...)_ Smiling at the memory of his first meeting with Mara, Edward rose from his bed and wrapped himself in a silk robe, enjoying the flawless texture of the blood red fabric. She had been just as Sano had described...a tall patrician princess, her creamy skin and pale coloring offset by a glorious mane of curly black hair that begged to be unbound by eager male hands. _(She is just the woman I need to secure my place in the highest echelons of proper society...I have the wealth...she has the bearing...and with a little work... the appearance of being of the highest breeding...)_

Edward gazed proudly at his lavishly decorated bedroom chamber, determined now that he was well on his way to amassing a fortune in trading he could now begin to shift his attention to garnering the familial security he had craved from childhood. _(My father lacked the foresight to see where his actions would take him....a flaw that left him mad and my poor mother in a debtor's prison condemned to rot along with my brothers and sisters...)_ A hard glint settled in his English blue eyes...a hardness that was the legacy of living in squalor and filth , condemned to watch his own father fall victim to syphilis after a lifetime of infidelity. It had nearly undone him, seeing the brilliant and ruthless panhandler reduced to a mad shadow of a man, unable to maintain the barest hint of propriety. _(I'll be damned if I make the same error...and allow my carnal appetites to destroy what I have fought to attain...)_

Squaring his shoulders, he walked quickly over to the liquor cabinet and procured a lead crystal decanter filled with premium Kentucky bourbon. _(Nor can I allow the ties of friendship...or the bounds of my Christian upbringing to impede my progress...)_ He poured himself a glass of the amber hued liquor and drank it quickly, relishing the savage burning sensation in the back of his throat.

_(Besides...even If I wanted to....which I don't...It's far too late for that...)_ Edward slung back another shot of Bourbon, then rambled unsteadily over to the large padlocked traveling case he'd brought back from Yokohama. His manicured fingers ran covetously over the dark leather exterior, while he imagined the sleek American rifles and revolvers within...a treasure of contraband weapons that would establish him as the pre-eminent arms dealer in Japan, a position left strangely vacant after the sudden disappearance of a white haired triad boss several years before. _(I heard the man was a genius...what a pity I never had the chance to test my mettle against him...)_

Not knowing how lucky he was that the white hard man was no longer a competitor, he sighed restlessly and mentally went over the plans he had painstakingly made to not only to acquire the woman he deserved and a top position among the western businessmen, but a foolproof plan that would prevent him from not only being imprisoned for the rest of his life in a substandard Japanese prison, but also being beaten within an inch of his life by only true friend he'd ever had.

With a world weary sigh, Edward glanced over at a small framed picture that had been taken nearly three years before in Paris in front of the barely finished statue of a giant woman that had been created as a gift to the people of the United States. It was of two men...one of whom looked distinctively uncomfortable at being caught in a photograph. _(He was convinced that such things were not to be trusted...)_ A strange sensation that a more honest man would have recognized as guilt began to whisper in his heart that the untrustworthy item wasn't the newfangled camera...but the blond figure standing beside the Japanese man. __

Standing before the stern toga clad statue, Edward had calculated shipping costs, bills of laden and the delightful amount of publicity for the sculptor...Sanosuke had spent a good half hour carefully copying a mindless little poem about huddles masses yearning to be free. _(Even then the man was hopelessly naive...)_ A faint echo of a memory danced around the dusk dampened room as he remembered listening to the street hardened man wax poetic about the ideals that the verse blandly spit out...surprised that a penniless Oriental even knew what inalienable rights were. _(With a little more discipline...and a slightly less lax attitude towards aggressive capitalism he could have risen above his pitiable station in life....)_

Before bidding Sanosuke adieu in Prague, Edward had uncharacteristically offered his tall friend the chance to join him in his business ventures. He had been shocked...and rather offended when the ex-gangster had not only refused the offer to become a gun runner, but had angrily denounced the clandestine trade, warning Edward not to ever bring so much as a delicate derringer to Japan unless he was in the mood to have his ass kicked. _(It was the first of many poor choices on his part...)_ Stretching languidly he sighed, then walked over to the double french door and pushed them open slightly, allowing a thin stream of cold air to slither into the oppressively hot bedroom. _(But certainly not the last....)_

While he could almost comprehend Sanosuke's fanciful ideas about a gun free Japan, the fighter's insistence on keeping his relationship on a platonic level with the beautiful foreign doctor was beyond reason...a strange lesson in self denial that was perplexing to say the least. _(The bloody fool adores that woman more than his own life....and yet insists on keeping her at bay in the hopes that the distance he places between them will bolster up her already damaged reputation...)_ Taking in a deep breath of ice chilled air, he gazed down at the slush covered streets, forcing down another irrational wave of regret at the thought of betraying a man who had spared his life on more than once occasion without any thought of monetary reward or future leverage.

_(He doesn't understand that it's already too late....the gossip mongers are already wagging their forked tongues and weaving their deceptions in the lower social circles. ) _Intentionally forgetting the fact that he too had taken part in many of the self righteous tirades regarding the unwelcome mingling of the races, the thirty-two year old merchant ran his hand along the frost etched window pane and almost wished that his tall friend had never returned back to his native land, thus sparing him from the inevitable pangs that such a deception necessitated. _(Once things settle down.....I can help him find a more suitable companion...perhaps even secure the good favor of that sharp tongued Oriental woman he once rather fancied...) _

Edward smiled brightly, swelling with pride at his thoughtfulness. _(Yes, that's it...I'm sure that Sanosuke would prefer to stay within his own native sphere rather than face the indignities that both he and Miss Mogensen would be subjected to were they to rashly form a more intimate understanding...)_ Riding high with backhanded good intentions, he gazed out one final time at the darkening street...then turned and went back into his room, content to pursue his plans in earnest. 

Inside Mara's Bedroom

_ (Damn it's cold in here....)_ Sano thought as he tried to pick up the overturned medical texts that littered the worn wooded floor of Mara's bedroom. _(I wonder why Mara just doesn't sleep in the main part of the house until it gets a little warmer...)_ He knelt down and carefully picked up an unusually battered book, careful not to crack the water damaged spine. _(Knowing her...she's leery of getting in the way...)_

Rolling his eyes at the absurd thought he stood up and absent mindedly began flipping through the barely discernable pages. _( Kaoru and Kenji consider her closer than kin...and Kenshin is finally warming up to her...especially after working with her at the damn awful hospital...) _He turned another page...then paused...and carefully pulled out a strange photograph that was carefully tucked between the yellowed pages.

_(I'll be damned....)_ Sanosuke walked quickly over to the oil lamp and held the oddly shaped picture under the strident light. _(It's in color...I didn't know they had cameras that could do that....) _It was a picture of Mara standing along side what had to be one of the tallest (and most forbidding) men that Sano had ever seen. _(I'll bet that's her old man...Gods, he looks about as friendly as a mal-tempered yak_)Pale grey eyes met Sano's deep brown orbs in a stare that was piercing despite being overlaid on a faded piece of paper. There was no softness in the man's gaze...only a steely resolution that faintly reminded the ex-gangster of a certain chain smoking cop. 

Taking care to place the photo exactly where he found it...Sano carefully turned several more pages...then gasped with delight as he found another exotically colored picture, this time of Mara as a child standing in a vegetable garden. _(Awww....she was cute....)_ He grinned as he drank in the details of the little girl...delighting in the skinned spindly knees, a half tied hair bow , the uncharacteristic smudges of dirt on the child's pale face and the familiar crooked hint of a smile that the mature woman occasionally graced him with. _(I'll bet myself a bowl of Sake that she was a hell raiser just like me....) _

More pages were turned, revealing yet another photo of his friend...a more formal pose of a young woman on the brink of adulthood. Sanosuke cocked his head to the side, trying to imagine what occasion had prompted her to wear black robes and a strange square hat with a yellow tassel on one side. _(Perhaps this was what she wore to school....)_ He could see pride in the young woman's pretty eyes...and a sense of easy confidence that had long since evaporated, leaving a more quiet and cautious adult where there had once been untried teenager.

He found two more pictures in the antiquated book....and unlike the previous three, these brought him no enjoyment. _(So this was her husband....)_ Fighting against an irrational twinge of jealousy, Sanosuke looked down at the image of the man Mara had chosen above all others. Knotting his eyebrows in concentration, Sano looked carefully at the smiling blond, blue eyed figure...then to the radiantly beautiful bride in his arms. _(I've never seen Mara look so happy....)_ There was no trace of sadness in her smile, only palpable joy and the unmistakable glow of a woman deeply in love. _(What I wouldn't give to see her smile like that....to know that I could make her as happy as he did...) _He silently put the happy image back dow, feeling suddenly like an unwelcome interloper. 

Sano frowned and held the last battered picture up so he could discern the individual

expression of each person. _(These must have been the people she worked with...)_ There were two men...one of whom was a lanky Japanese man that looked eerily familiar despite sporting bright blue hair...the other man was stick thin and grinning like a fool while eating some odd bright orange finger food. It was the women though that caught and held his attention. He looked for a moment at a large dark skinned woman who even on paper radiated intelligence and warmth. She had one ample arm draped casually around the fourth woman...one whose pale face was set in a sad, weary expression that set his own heart aching.

"Oh Mara...what the hell happened ?" Sano whispered to the photo, wishing that the worn paper would reveal the source of her obvious unhappiness. _(Was this after he died.....or before?)_ He cautiously ran a finger over the thin, somber figure, too absorbed in trying to decipher her silent sorrow to notice Kenshin stepping into the bedroom with a steaming bowl of food.

"Sano?" Kenshin's quiet voice was unnaturally loud in the lamp lit room. "I thought you might like some food."

"Oh...thanks." Sanosuke muttered without looking up at his friend as he set the photographs down on the rumpled futon.

"Are you feeling all right?" Kenshin walked over and sat beside the tall man. "It's not like you to miss a meal...or a bowl of warmed sake." 

"I just wanted to give you some time to spend with your wife and kid." Sano took the bowl and began to eat, forcing himself not to think about how empty he suddenly felt after looking at those damn pictures. "So...I thought I'd hang out in here and tidy up a bit." He winced at he bit down on a burnt grain of rice. "You know how Mara is...she keeps the clinic as neat as a temple..and let's her room get like this." He gestured to the pile of books, discarded skirts and haphazardly constructed shelves that were filled to the breaking point with glass beakers, bottles and several unknown scientific instruments. 

_(Who would think I'd ever catch Sagara Sanosuke cleaning....)_ He reached over and picked up the discarded photographs. "They're in color." Kenshin ran his finger over the brightly hued images, trying to figure out what type of ink had been used.

"Weird...isn't it." Sano managed in between bites. 

"Very." The older man replied as he looked carefully at each of the photographs. "So...this must be her late husband." He frowned and held the picture up to the light, still curious. "They made a striking couple." His sharp eyes took in other details as well that he didn't comment on. _(The cut of her dress...and the depth of the color in the photograph are unlike anything I've ever seen...)_ He turned the picture over and slowly spelled out the word "KODAK" in his mind. _(So strange...perhaps that's why Dr. Mogensen hid the photos in this book...she didn't want to arouse any more suspicions than she already has...) _

Sano ignored that comment entirely and continued to wolf down his dinner. _(Striking my ass...they look perfect together....)_ "He seems like he was a decent enough guy."

"I suppose he does." Kenshin said blandly as he looked at the group picture with a knowing eye. _(But looks can be deceiving....)_ His thoughts were confirmed as the gazed down at the pale woman with a haunted expression. _(She suffered terribly at the hand of someone she loved...) _ A whisper of anger filtered through his heart as he took in the finer details that Sanosuke had overlooked. There was the faintest hint of a bruise along Mara's white cheek, and a tense...frightened cast to her eyes that told more than the nervous way she fingered her prominent wedding bad. _(And unless I'm sadly mistaken...it was her husband who betrayed his marital vows and mistreated the woman he should have protected....)_

He looked once again the group photo, taking in the strange writing on the white coats the doctors wore...as well as the rather startling fact that both women were wearing trousers and seemed at ease in such mannish attire. His violet eyes narrowed fractionally as he tried to figure out just where he'd seem someone who reminded him on the strange Japanese man with the unnaturally colored hair and an hauntingly familiar smirk. 

"I can't figure out why she stuffed these in this damn book." Sano put the empty bowl down and flipped through the dilapidated text one last time...half hoping for and half dreading another visual clue to Mara's past. "Hell, regular photographs are damn expensive...these things must have cost a fortune."

_(Perhaps this isn't the best time...I've not slept for two days....and drank more sake at dinner than I am accustomed to.....)_Kenshin sighed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering if he should broach such a delicate subject with his friend. _(Still, he needs to understand what he's up against..)_

"She is still in mourning Sanosuke, and struggling to come to term with the loss of her husband. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if even seeing his image on paper is still incredibly painful for her. "_(In more ways than one....)_ He looked over at the younger man, knowing that his words were unwelcome at best. "Of all the wounds that a heart can suffer...the loss of one's mate can be the most severe."__

"But she'll get over it won't she?" Sano hated the desperation he heard in his voice but continued anyway. "I mean...other people have." He glanced over at the redhead, remembering the day Kenshin had confessed that he too had once been married. "You...managed." Sanosuke fisted his hands tightly in his weather worn pants. "Didn't you?"

"Oh Sano...you never get over losing someone that you love." Kenshin chided softly. "Can you honestly tell me that even now...you still don't mourn the loss of Captain Sagara?" His tone softened when the other man froze like he'd been cut...then slowly shook his head. "When Tomoe died...so did a part of my heart." He pressed his small hand against his chest to compensate for the sudden stab of pain that the memory of her death prompted. "For ten years...I mourned her loss and damned myself for causing it."

His voice became unusually husky as he struggled to continue. "There are times when I'll catch the hint of white plums in the summer breeze...or see a woman wearing lavender and find myself missing her terribly." He covered his face with his hands and tried to gain control over his sleep deprived emotions. 

"What about Kaoru ?" Sanosuke voice was laced with unspoken concern. "I thought that you loved her...."

"I do!" Kenshin jerked his head up, his eyes dark and intense. "Never doubt that my feelings for Kaoru are less than they should be." He caught Sanosuke by the arm. "She is not a replacement for Tomoe....nor would I want her to be one!" 

"But you said..." Sano winced as Kenshin's hold on his arm became painful. 

"I said that I miss Tomoe...and still love and honor her memory." Kenshin shook his head. "But that doesn't mean that I can't love Kaoru just was well. She means everything to me...she and Kenji are my life and my best reason to continue making things right!" He looked Sanosuke straight in the eye. "If you ever doubt the depth of my love for that woman...consider what happened when I thought she'd been taken from me in a twisted act of revenge."

_(It broke him....)_ Sanosuke swallowed hard at the horrible memory of watching Kenshin rot away in Rakinumura. "I'm sorry man." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and tried to apologize for the misunderstanding.

"There's nothing to apologize for." Kenshin said simply. "When it comes to matters of love...there are never any simple answers...nor are there any guarantees that we can give those we adore the happiness that they so richly deserve." He smoothed some wrinkles in his hamaka, then sighed. "That is the danger and the enticement of loving a woman Sanosuke....they willingly place their bodies, lives and hearts into our care. And when we fail them in that trust...." Kenshin dropped his head sadly. "And fail them we will.....there is no greater shame or sorrow that a man can endure."

A tight painful sensation gripped Sano's heart as the image of Megumi half naked and weeping lanced through his weary mind. "I failed a woman once...and I'll be damned if I ever do it again." 

"The risk of failure is a part of every relationship." Kenshin stood slowly, wincing as an arthritic ankle protested the subtle action. "As is the responsibility of trying to make things right with them when we cause them grief."

"At least you had the chance to make things right with Kaoru." Sano said earnestly.

"You don't know how close I came to losing that chance." Kenshin closed his eyes. "If it hadn't been for Dr. Mogensen I would have lost my wife as a result of my neglect and selfishness."

"C'mon man...you were doing what you thought was right." Sano jumped to his feet, unwilling to let Kenshin dwell on such an unhappy time. "Besides...it's like you said. The damned government finally stopped sending you out on those fucked up assignments that they were too cowardly to take care of themselves." His tired eyes brightened as an idea began to form. "You're going to have the time to take care of your Little Miss...and that looney hellcat you two insist on calling a son." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the well creased prayer scarf. "You're a good man...and if the Gods have any sense of fair play...they'll give you the time that you need to work things out."

Kenshin looked down at the length of bleached linen that Sanosuke gave him. "What is this?"

"Something that might help you when things get rough." Sano rubbed his toe nervously against a rough spot on the floor. "Some holy men made it for you in Tibet. It's supposed to help heal your soul." He frowned furiously, praying that his friend wouldn't think he was an idiot. "I thought...well...that it was worth a shot."

"Thank you." Kenshin whispered as he gathered up the white fabric between his fingers. "I will treasure this always." He blinked rapidly, trying to keep his eyes dry. 

"Mara kinda patched it up." Sano pointed to the nearly imperceptible stitches that wove through the freshly laundered fabric. "Ya know...you really ought to think about what she told you." He knelt down and picked up several more books. "You'd make one hell of a doctor Kenshin...and that would be one hell of a way to get straightened out without you having to leave home again." _(There....I said it....the rest is up to him...)_

Kenshin looked down at the pale linen and despite a lifetime of skepticism found himself hoping that the humble strip of cloth might have some unseen power to help him undo the damage he'd caused to those he loved best. _(If it were only that easy....)_ Glancing down at Sano_, _he was nearly overcome with gratitude for being blessed not only with a beautiful wife and son...but also a good reliable friend who would carry such a thoughtful gift over endless seas in the hopes of easing his troubled heart and mind. _(It's people like him...that have made my life bearable....)_

"Are you going to come in and warm up?" Kenshin asked softly, aware that Sano was

feeling a little uncomfortable . _(He's not the only one...I haven't opened up like this for a very, very long time...) _

"I..um...I thought that I'd just hang out here until Mara gets back." Sano hoped he sounded more calm than he felt. _(If she doesn't show up in the next hour or so...I'm going to go find her)_ He felt the tips of his ears turningred as Kenshin looked carefully right through his forced causal words and deep into his heart. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay...you know...just in case that poor kid didn't make it."

_(He's grown so thoughtful....and kind....)_ Kenshin nodded, aware that he too had been thinking about the likely fate of the brown eyed child. "She's very lucky to have you for a friend." _(And so am I....)_

Sanosuke picked up the two discarded pictures from the futon and looked first at the enigmatic group photo...then back to the happier wedding picture that almost taunted him. _(She deserves far better than I'll ever be able to give her....)_ He glanced one last time at Mara's husband, seeing in his perfect clothing, polished smile and assured bearing a reminder of just how inadequate he was in comparison....then sadly put them back between their rightful pages, closed up the old book and carefully set it on what he assumed was a table make from shipping crates. "I just want....aw hell, I just wish I could do more for her." Sano's deep voice was laced with regret. He bent down and gingerly picked up one of Mara's skirts...unsure how...or even if he was supposed to try and fold the voluminous mass of fabric.

"You've given her more than you'll ever know." Ignoring the blatant look of disbelief in Sano's cynical eyes, Kenshin went on as he tried to adjust his snow soaked tabi. "Like my Kaoru, Dr. Mogensen judges a man not by his social class or financial security...but by the strength of his character...and the desires of his heart." He turned and walked towards the cold dojo entrance, eager to return to the warmth of his wife's welcome embrace and give his friend the time and privacy he needed to contemplate the statement he was about to make. "She has found in you a dear friend...a trusted protector....and unless I am very much mistaken....a man that she can safely love...and be loved by." 

Sano was only able to manage the barest nod as his friend thanked him again for the prayer scarf and stammer out a strangled sounding farewell as the diminutive man lightly stepped out into the bitterly cold night. _(Gods Kenshin.....I hope you're right....)_ For several seconds, he simply stood there...trying to calm the irrational spark of hope in his heart....then finally gave up and proceeded to try and figure out the mysterious art of folding women's clothing. 

______________________________________________________________________________

_Author's Rambling :_

_For those of you who didn't catch the Highlander reference at the beginning of the story...I apologize. My dear (and very patient) husband begged for it...and who am I to refuse a the requests of a handsome guy? *winks*_

_The land that Sanosuke stumbled on was in fact Arlington National Cemetery (and formerly the plantation of General Robert E. Lee_

_Wyoming was the first state in the Union to give women the right to vote...and was the first territory as well (1869) Utah was the second (1870). _

_Construction of the Statue of Liberty began in 1875 and was sculpted by Auguste Bartholdi. It stood in Paris until it was dismantled in early 1885 and was shipped to the US. For those who are interested...here is the poem that Sanosuke copied down._

The New Colossus 

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,   
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;   
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand   
A mighty woman with a torch whose flame   
Is imprisoned lightning, and her name   
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand   
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command   
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. 

"Keep ancient lands your storied pomp!" cries she with silent lips. 

"Give me your tired your poor,   
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,  
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,  
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 

Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) 

________________________________________________________________________________

_Coming up in the next chapter...._

_ (I don't care if she's done with work or not....)_ Sano flung his well worn cloak over his broad shoulders and stormed out of the dojo. _(She's coming home with me come hell or high water...)_ He swore under his breath as he quickly made his way out of the courtyard and down the street, finding to his dismay that the winter weather had grown impossibly worse....and the temperatures unbelievably cold. _(Gods....I sure hope she stayed at the hospital and didn't try to walk home in this shitty weather....)_ His mouth tightened into a worried line as he looked up and down the snow littered street for any sign of movement. _(Who am I kidding?....That damn woman is as stubborn as I am....)_

He covered his mouth with his cloak, knowing that it would help him retain his body heat and prevent the bitterly cold air from burning his lungs. _(She's too thin to be able to stand more than a few minutes of this...)_ Panic began to burrow into his stomach as he turned the corner unto one of the main streets. _(...and too tired to be able take proper care of herself...)_ Picking up his pace, he quickly wove through the treacherous landscape of blasting wind, snow covered cobblestones and knee deep puddles filled with black, icy water. _(I swear....if she's gone and done anything stupid....I'm gonna....)_

Sano froze, and peered carefully at a tall stone wall across the street. _(I thought I saw something ...)_ His brown eyes narrowed first in disbelief.....then widened with heartsick realization when he realized that the snowy form was in fact the woman he's been desperately searching for. She was huddled against the bottom of the stone wall and terribly still. _(Oh Gods....NO!.....)_

______________________________________________________________________________

I never owned Kenshin..... *sniff*....... and I never will. *wails* 

_____________________________________________________________________________

Individual Responses to my AWESOME Reviewers (THANKS A MILLION!!!!!)

Iram - Thanks for being so supportive...and no, Kenshin doesn't know about what happened between Megumi and Sano.

Midori - I appreciate the review....especially considering you wrote it while on vacation.

Nemo - *Hugs* Thanks for all your help. Mara is a composite of two real doctors and my younger sister, Rebecca.

Le-Chan - Yes...Sano and Mara will. ( IN THE NEXT CHAPTER) *____* Kenshin will also eventually get to learn about why Tomoe gave Kenji the top.

Somebody - I am honored. Thanks for your support.

Kka - From now on, I'll send you an email.

Oryo - I appreciate you taking the time to read my story...it means the world to me. *hugs*

Luna - I too am enamored of the fuzzy orange dust bunny. Thanks for reviewing.

Imbrium - What can I say....THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! (I hope everything is well and that your summer is a good one)

Conspirator - The time warp will be touched upon in Chapter 10. But you won't know what will happens to Mara until the end of the story.

Ooshatielf - They won't "hook up" for a while...though in the next chapter, there will be a wee bit of smooching (I just haven't decided where....any input would be greatly appreciated)

Vesca - Yes...Mara was shot while trying to protect her husband. Thanks for the review.

Aerogirl401 - Don't worry....Sano and Mara will be all right. Though I warn you right now...that they are in for a rough road in the next few chapters....Please bear with me as we go through them and remember that no matter what...I am an eternal optimist.

Mad Melma - There shall be hook ups...I promise.

And for those who reviewed on Media Miner.....

Miss D - Thanks for the Review

Lere - Sorry for the delay in posting. 

Firuze - I'm thankful for all your help...and your friendship.

Fujifunmum - Thanks...yes, life is rarely all sunshine. Thanks for reading.

Nightrain - I am thinking about an O.F.....I just don't have much time to work on it. I hope that the flashback helped give you more info on Mara.

Modernmikp - I promise to write more...if you promise to read it.

S-Midnight - Thanks for reviewing. I hope you'll continue to enjoy it.

Rinuu - Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Lillithan - Please keep reading...I appreciate your insight.


	10. The Ties That Bind Part Four

_ AS TIME GOES BY....CHAPTER NINE _

  


_ Hi...First of all I want to personally apologize for the delay in getting this posted. The past few months for me have been difficult at best. A serious combination of an insane work schedule, sick children...and the unexpected death of a family member has really left me reeling. At one point, I actually considered putting this on hiatus until my life took a turn for the slightly less insane._

_ Luckily for me, and hopefully for you...I have been blessed with some dear friends and a wonderful husband who helped me get this damn chapter finished...and encouraged me not to cater to the least common denominator when it comes to writing. _

_ Thank you Firuze and InfiniteNemo and FujiFunMum AND of course, my darling (and remarkably patient) husband, Dark Agent_

  
  


_ (Gods...I hate the snow...)_ The thought came up over and over again as he passed silently through the white, deserted streets. _(...I always have...and I always will...hate the fucking snow...)_ The snow, had it been a person, would have been in serious trouble. With one remarkable exception, every man who had managed, either through idiocy, fate or design to garner the tall man's hatred was dead. 

His disdain for the wintery landscape was not due to an inability to endure icy temperatures, nor was it because the world weary fugitive had a penchant for tender, green blossoms and warm, balmy summer afternoons. His animosity towards this most unforgiving of seasons was the result of memories....one blood soaked memory in particular. 

_(And now...thanks to my own damn incompetence I'll have two....)_ A lesser man would have stopped at this particular moment, cursed the Gods for their utter lack of compassion, shed a tear perhaps, or simply bemoaned the harshness of life. This man however, dismissed such banal...and revealing acts of emotion and continued to creep towards his destination, a worn out, rat infested warehouse where he knew....or at least hoped...that he would find the corpse of his father. 

It had been emotion, filial concern perhaps, that had prompted him to send his father on the train...a desire to spare the old man from the icy walking conditions that he had endured without a word of complaint. And it was this same, unwelcome...but undeniable emotion, that drew him to this dangerous place. _(I owe it to the old man....)_ Dark turquoise eyes became haunted as the faint mental remembrance of white plums drifted through his mind _(...I owe it to her....to find the body and see that the final rites are properly performed....)_

Squelching down the rising tide or regret that was threatening to dull his ferally sharp senses, he continued on...past the abandoned post of a policeman, across a slushy expanse of mud stained snow...until at last his sensitive nostrils twitched slightly, picking up the faint, but unmistakable odor of spilled human blood. It was a scent he was terribly familiar with, a scent that he had reveled in for most of his life. _(It fixed itself onto my mind the day she fell...and will stay with me until I take my last breath....)_

With the eerie stealth of a tiger, he crept into the first warehouse, a mindlessly large building that reeked of death and despair. He could feel the dissipating energy of grief, could almost hear the moans and sobs of those who found their kin in such a hell hole. Sneering at the thought of such useless sentiment, he quickly examined the cavernous building, finding to his surprise...and deepening wrath, that it was empty. _(They have already taken the bodies to be burned...)_ For a moment, rage welled up within him...as did the desire to lash out, to main and hurt those who in their arrogance had taken his father's body from him, denying him both the chance to fulfill the solemn obligations of an only son...and the time that he needed to say goodbye to the only kind hand he had known since the murder of his beloved sister.

A cruel, sardonic smirk graced his handsome features, transforming the 32 year old man into something hard and merciless...a vengeful creature that any rational person would avoid. _(They will pay for this affront....)_ His hand instinctively went for his watou, the sword he no longer carried...a sword he no longer needed to carry out his murderous intentions. _(I will show them what it to die without honor...to leave this existence without benefit of family or rites...) _

Tilting his head back, he closed his eyes and willingly allowed the darker side of his being to bleed into every pore, to embrace the harshness of an uncaring reality....to remind himself that he was once again....utterly alone. 

There was no irrational wellspring of hope within him, no chance whatsoever that there could be some mistake...that his father could have been spared such a disgraceful end. _(I purposefully dressed him as a beggar...made him look as wretched and unapproachable as possible) _The disguise that had served to protect his last living relative had ended up condemning the old man, assuring beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would have recieved no medical attention...nor would his battered body have been shown the slightest shred of respect. _(For him there was no Water of the Last Moment...instead of the proper Shinishozoku, he wore filthy rags...I'm sure his white haired head faced anywhere but North...)_

For a moment, the younger man stood still...listening morosely to the shrieking blizzard that pounded wildly against the battered warehouse...half expecting to hear within the mindless winter moan the disappointed sigh of a long lost sibling...or too see amid the whirling snow eddies a pair of sad, black eyes staring unhappily at him._(Oh, Sister...Once again I have failed to protect my family....)_ He silently slipped out of the empty warehouse, trying to block the detestable feeling of failure...forcing his brilliant mind instead to come up with an escape route that would allow him finally leave this accursed country behind him. 

As he made his way past the second, smaller building...he felt...no, sensed something strange emanating from within the oxidized tin walls. _(What in the hell?) _It was a faint mental counter melody that brought him up short, brushing up against his anger and grief...then retreating back again, taunting him with it's elusive energy pattern....a pattern he had never felt before. Focusing outward, he pursued the invisible threat of conscious thought, tracking it like a hunter over the snow blasted landscape....and up into the second warehouse, a building that had appeared from the outside to be as abandoned as the first.

The baby fine hairs on his nape stood straight up on end as he crept towards the darkened building. It had been years since he'd felt such a powerful life force, an eternity of living beneath his station...relying only on primal instinct and hard won knowledge to keep himself and his ailing father one step ahead of the mindless police and two steps ahead of the much more intelligent, and far more dangerous triad members who wanted nothing more than to see his head on a pike. _(They must have followed us to Yokohama....then watched as I put him on the train....)_ He snarled softly at the thought, knowing that the men who still pursued him would certainly take advantage of such a rare situation. _(It is after all....exactly what I would do....)_

The heart that he denied having sank when he detected a second chi within....a terribly weak and unsteady ribbon of living energy that was as familiar as his own. _(Father !!!)_ The man closed his eyes, damning himself once again for his incompetence. _(Oh Gods...what have they done to him ?)_ His lethal hands tightened into fists as he imagined the worse. _(He was already in poor health...the cold temperatures only aggravating his consumptive state...)_ He knew what men were capable of...the brutality that was so easily committed in the name of national security or because of bruised honor. __

_ (...And yet the bastards only sent one man to do the job....)_ He smiled grimly, recalling the past assassination attempts that had ended with him standing alone amid a pile of decapitated killers. _(This man is either very foolish.....or very, very dangerous...)_ He closed his eyes again and studied the ubiquitous mental signature, amazed at the strength and complexity of it. _(....I'm willing to bet on the latter....)_ A strange sense of morbid competition filled him, making him suddenly eager for the violent and inevitable confrontation. _(Let's see how the son of a bitch deals with me....)_

A cruel, weary smile settled on his cold lips as he looked around the dilapidated building, searching for a route into the dark warehouse that would allow him to surprise his enemies...and make them pay dearly for their boldness. _(I've had it with this bullshit...the endless circle of hunting, killing and hiding ....Tonight, for good or for ill...I will end this !)_ With feline ease, he contorted his muscular frame, slipping silently between two rusty, water warped tin panels...and into dangerous darkness. _(For months now...I wanted to take the old man somewhere else...somewhere safe and warm where he could spend his final days in relative peace...)_ Pressing his back against the wall, he waited for his sight to adjust to the murky shadows...and his aching heart to accept the fact that those fond desires would never come to pass. _(Not now...not ever....My father is gone...and once again, I am utterly alone...)_

Within seconds, he was moving...blending effortlessly in the twisted shadows that littered the walls and floor, becoming a nightmarish thing...a lethal dream that wove silently towards his goal. As he silently crept towards the back of the building, his sharp eyes devoured every minute detail....the caustic tangy odor of antiseptics...a table overflowing with linen bandages...the unmistakable scent of dried fragrant herbs and sweet honey. _(It appears as though this place was used as a way station for those who managed to survive the train accident....) _He noted with detached satisfaction that unlike the other warehouse, this place was surprisingly clean and devoid of vermin, something that the fastidiously clean man couldn't help but approve of. _(What an odd place for an ambush....)_

Using his predatory instincts, he continued on...back towards the flickering yellow of a fading kerosene lamp...towards the source of the mind bending chi. Pausing for a moment in a particularly dark shadow, he committed both his mind and body to battle...then...with a smirk and a sigh, he boldly stepped out of the darkness...and towards his destiny.

_(What the fuck?)_ Destiny it seemed, had a sick sense of humor. _(What in the hell is a woman doing here?)_ Confusion battled with anger...then gave way to deep relief...and yes, even happiness as his wide eyes settled on the second figure lying peacefully on a futon. _(Gods! This can't be !)_ But somehow...for some inexplicable reason_..._his father was alive. In the darkness, he gently examined the old man, finding that instead of being subjected to mindless torture...his last living relative had been bandaged and cleaned, fed and cared for.

_(Why would she do such a thing?)_ For a man who had been subjected to the darkest side of the human condition, this was an unimaginable kindness...an act of compassion that shook him to his calloused core. _(There has to be some clue that I'm missing...a darker motive that I just can't see....) _He turned his attention towards the tall, sleeping woman...hoping to discern some malicious streak hiding just beneath her blood stained skirts and exhausted expression.

What he found only managed to confuse him more..Instead of a lethal adversary, his keen gaze fell upon a thin, foreign woman, one whose delicate facial features were partially hidden under an avalanche of black curly hair. _(I'll be damned....)_ He couldn't help but stare when she shifted in her slumber, revealing sculpted cheekbones, long soot colored lashes and a full, expressive mouth turned downwards in a delightfully crooked frown. 

When his sharp gaze finally settled on her left hand, his bemusement vanished..leaving behind only more questions, and a slight tinge of almost protective concern. _(This woman is either married to a complete moron....)_ He bent down and carefully examined the raw, red hands, blood soaked clothing, and the dark rings that marred the delicate flesh under her exotically shaped eyes. _(Or she is a widow....)_ As barbaric as Europeans were, they were not in the habit of sending married females into such dangerous conditions, nor would any honorable man allow his mate to be subjected to such a gross state of neglect. 

All thought however, regarding the strange woman's marital state vanished when she stirred again, obviously rising up from her badly needed slumber. _(Time to go...)_ He rose fluidly, taking extreme care not to cause the rotten floorboards to creak, and made his way over to his father's side...slowly but steadily waking him up. As soon as the old man's eyes fluttered open, his son clamped a gentle..but very firm hand over his mouth, preventing the elderly fellow from crying out. 

"We must leave...now." The younger man whispered firmly, hoping that he could forestall his father from engaging in an understandable...but entirely ill timed emotional outburst. _(There will be time for such things...but only when we are safe...)_ "Can you walk?" 

Blinking back joyful tears, the old man nodded, beyond thankful to once again feel the sturdy strength of his boy. His elation however died when he took in his dark surrounding and knew...that this reunion could come at a very heavy price. _(He's taking a terrible risk being out in the open...)_ Brutal experience had taught him that the monsters who hunted his only surviving child would stop at nothing to achieve their brutal aims. _(I was enough of a burden before being injured....)_ He tried to move his bandaged leg, and nearly cried out in agony. _(...now I am only going to slow him down even more...)_

"Son, I need you to listen carefully." He croaked, unused to speaking in such a low tone. "Forget about me...leave now, while you can. This lady by my side...she is a doctor...a gentle, good woman." He glanced over at the poor physician, thankful that she had finally fallen asleep. "She will care for me....until." He closed his eyes and tried not to cough...not to think about the sputum filled blood that was creeping up his throat. "Please.....go...don't let me endanger your life more than I already have..."__

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, the son carefully began wrapping blankets around his father's rail thin body. "Why don't we save this delightful conversation for a more appropriate time?" He lifted a long tapered finger in warning when his father tried to protest. "We are wasting valuable time. If you value my safety...and your own, you will kindly keep your mouth shut until we are out of this damn warehouse."

_(Bless his tender heart...)_ Fighting down the urge to embrace his mal tempered boy, the old man simply settled for a comforting pat on the shoulder. "There is no need for you to take me with you." He paused, then continued softly...knowing full well that his son, for all his arrogance and strength, was very tender hearted and prone to deep melancholia. "You know the nature of consumption as well as I do. It is foolish for me to remain with you...to put you at further risk." He sighed and reached a shaking hand out towards his son. "You are the last precious gift that life had given me....I want you to leave me and continue to find your true path...Nothing would make me happier than to die knowing that you are safe." 

For a spilt second, raw anguish bled out into the younger man's deep turquoise eyes...then was quickly concealed with barely managed sarcasm. "Gods, you really are a sentimental old fool." He helped his father stand, then began to lead him towards the crack in the warehouse wall. "Would you want me to face my ancestors...to look into Tomoe's eyes knowing that I failed to protect my own father?" He sighed softly when his the poor man stumbled...then effortlessly lifted the ailing body into his powerful arms, holding his father as though he would a child. "No old man...you are my father, and as such my responsibility. Now..please, for the love of the Gods, keep quiet!"

"But what about the kind doctor? Surely we can't leave her lying alone?"

"We can....and we will." The son said through tightly clenched teeth, right at the proverbial edge of exploding. "Trust me father, unless I am sadly mistaken, that woman is more than capable of taking care of herself." He glared down furiously at his father, wishing that for once...he didn't have such an honor bound sire. 

"But I owe her..."

"You owe her nothing, and neither do I!" He snapped, no longer being as quiet as he should be. "If that woman is a doctor, then she is simply following the dictates of her profession and her own free will. If we remain then we will put not only ourselves at risk...but the woman as well. If you are truly concerned about her honor...and our continuing existence, then I suggest we get the hell out of here while we still can!"

"O...Okita?" 

A low, husky voice send chills up his spine. _(Congratulations...now she's awake!) _Turning his head slightly, he found himself staring into a pair of sleepy, steel grey eyes."You are mistaken my dear." He intentionally distorted the sound of his voice, transforming his normally deep baritone a light, relaxed tenor. "My name is Mumei Tooru. I've come to fetch my uncle and take him home." Smiling brightly, he changed direction and walked calmly towards the warehouse entrance with his wide eyed father in tow. "Please, don't concern yourself over us...just fall back asleep." 

Mara seriously considered the request, still in desperate need of sleep. _(Why shouldn't I? This in only a dream....) _She thought groggily, too weary to notice that the tall man standing before her was taller and more muscular that her co-worker had ever been. "Oh, don't give me that you paranoid little bastard." She yawned and stretched, enjoying the dialogue with the dream induced apparition of a friend she deeply missed. _(I've got to hand it to him...he's getting better making up those crazy code names....Mumei Tooru indeed!) _

Cracking open one bloodshot eyes, she grinned at the white haired fellow, thankful that for once....her blood soaked nightmares had been replaced with the image of the man who had single handedly saved her life...and her sanity. "I don't care what you call yourself..or that you've colored your hair white." She laid back down on the cold wooden floor boards, convinced now more than ever that this was nothing more than a dream....a subconscious response to her terrible homesickness. "You're still my friend, Yukishiro." 

_(She knows who I am!)_ The heart he regularly denied having sank at the lethal implications. _(Dammit....This is a set up after all!)_ Unwilling to expose his back to the woman, he inched towards the door, expecting an ambush at any second...cursing his enemies for their calculated cruelty. _(They used someone like her on purpose...knowing full well that I would fall for her kind trap and allow her to live....)_ The bitter irony was not lost upon him as he reached behind himself, fumbling with the locking mechanism on the warped wooden door. "I must congratulate you my dear, on your flawless performance."He snarled ferally at the pale woman "you really are quite the manipulative, little bitch."

_(Now wait just a damn second...)_ Mara thought, no longer drowsy. While her conspiracy theory addicted friend had no qualms about lining his underwear with tin foil and insisted that mint flavored toothpaste was a secret government mind control device....he would never....ever....accuse her of being manipulative, let alone call her a bitch. _(That would mean...that I'm not dreaming...)_ The cold that she felt when the muscular man turned and kicked open the door, was nothing compared to the icy fear that clenched her stomach as she locked her eyes on the sick, pale man being carried away. _(...and that this son of a bitch is messing around with my patient !)_

"Hey!" She was up on her feet and out the door, pausing only to snatch her wool coat. "Get back here!" Her heart skipped a beat as she was assaulted from all sides by icy wind and bitterly cold air. "You can't take that man out into this weather! He's terribly ill!" Mara leapt over an abandoned suitcase, sprinting towards the shorter man who for some inexplicable reason was hell bent of kidnaping her last surviving patient. 

_(How utterly typical...)_ Turquoise eyes narrowed in annoyance. _(Not only do my enemies send a woman to do us in....)_ He looked back, torn between being seriously dismayed...and delightfully impressed when the mal tempered female effortlessly bounded over a tall fence, making no effort to conceal her long legs...or to temper the white hot obscenities that were issuing forth from her pretty mouth. _(....they send a woman who can run....)_

And run she could. Even with his damaged eardrum, he could hear her closing in fast...the even rhythm of her stride att odds with her impassioned _(....and rather profane....) _pleas that he stop....that the old man over his shoulder was dangerously sick....It was the desperate tone to her husky voice that gave him pause....made him almost wonder if he'd managed to misjudge the woman.

_(Even if I have...I have to make my escape....)_ He could feel vibrations coming up from the street...the unmistakable sound signatures of a heavy carriage moving towards him at a dangerously rapid pace. _(...while there's still time....)_ Fearing the worst, that approaching carriage was laden with metropolitan police, he tightened his grip on his poor father with one hand...then leapt up, barely catching an ice covered tree branch with the other. The momentum allowed him to easily swing over a tall wooden gate...and into a snow covered garden...a perfect place for a white tiger to hide. 

Mara stumbled to her knees when a ferocious blast of wind tore down the cold, deserted street...tearing at her face and skirts with the mindless brutality of a late winter storm. _(Where in the hell did he go?)_ She tried to shield her eyes from the ice laden maelstrom, to see beyond the dangerously thick curtains of snow and wind. _(Where did he take the poor old man ?)_ She bent over, breathing raggedly....trying to catch her breath and ignore the excruciating effects of prolonged sleep deprivation. _(How am I ever going to find them ?)_ Whether it was her terrible weariness...or the viciously high winds and mind numbing temperatures, she failed to hear the pounding sounds of shoeless hoofs on cobble stone until it was too late to do anything but scream....

"What...what's wrong?" Kaoru rubbed her eyes and sat up beside her alert husband.

"Kenshin?" She brushed a sleepy kiss on his bare shoulder, urging him to lie back down beside her. 

"I'm not exactly sure..." Kenshin closed his eyes and tried to read the volatile mix of emotions that were filtering from the snow covered courtyard into his sleep fogged mind, jarring him not only from his badly needed slumber, but also from enjoying the peace that only his Kaoru could afford. He reached for his wife in the darkness, holding her naked body against his own. "I'm assuming that has Sanosuke finally decided to bring Mara back home...whether she is ready or not...." His violet eyes crinkled in amusement as he began nuzzling the soft skin behind her ear.. "I'm afraid that he is rather impatient when it comes to her well being."

Kaoru snorted and rolled to her side, pulling the warm covers up around her thin frame. "He's far too forward with her if you ask me."

"That's just his way." Kenshin murmured as he ran his fingertips along her jaw line, delighting in the deceptively fragile bone structure of his wife's face. He pulled her close, spooning up behind her...then kissed the back of her neck, gently nipping at her sensitive skin. "Besides...." Kenshin smiled as the fine hairs at her nape tickled his nose and lips. "She doesn't seem to mind."

Kaoru sighed , enjoying the erotic sensation of her husband nibbling on her earlobe. "Hmm....perhaps there's something to be said for forward men..." Her mouth dropped open with a heady mixture of shock...and delight when Kenshin reached around her slender body, cupping her bare breasts with his warm, calloused hands. 

"Am I being too forward?" His voice was husky with barely restrained desire.

"No." Kaoru rolled onto her back and pulled him close, wrapping her legs around his thin waist. "Not nearly enough..."

_(I don't care if she's done with work or not....)_ Sano flung his well worn cloak over his broad shoulders and stormed out of the dojo. _(She's coming home with me come hell or high water...)_ He swore under his breath as he quickly made his way out of the courtyard and down the street, finding to his dismay that the winter weather had grown impossibly worse....and the temperatures unbelievably cold. _(Gods....I sure hope she stayed at the hospital and didn't try to walk home in this shitty weather....)_ His mouth tightened into a worried line as he looked up and down the snow littered street for any sign of movement. _(Who am I kidding....that damn woman is as stubborn as I am....)_

He covered his mouth with his cloak, knowing that it would help him retain his body heat and prevent the bitterly cold air from burning his lungs. _(She's too thin to be able to stand more than a few minutes of this...)_ Panic began to burrow into his stomach as he turned the corner unto one of the main streets. _(...and too tired to be able take proper care of herself...)_ Picking up his pace, he quickly wove through the treacherous landscape of blasting wind, snow covered cobblestones and knee deep puddles filled with black, icy water. _(I swear....if she's gone and done anything stupid....I'm gonna....)_

Sano froze, and peered carefully through the maze of snow and ice encrusted wind. _(I thought I saw something ...something red....)_ His brown eyes narrowed first in disbelief.....then widened with heartsick realization when he realized that the snowy form was in fact the woman he's been desperately searching for. She was lying lifelessly in the middle of the snow covered street, a street that was stained with freshly frozen blood spatters. _(Oh Gods....NO !.....)_

"MARA!" He bellowed as he sprinted towards the hunched over figure, terrified that he'd waited too long to come and look for her. "Mara! Answer me, dammit!" He collapsed at her side and yanked her icy body up towards his own. "C'mon babe..." His hands shook as he pushed back her unbound hair out of her white face, praying that he'd see some glimmer of life in her grey eyes.. "Don't do this to me !" 

She was impossibly pale....and her skin was ice cold. _(...Shit!...Shit!...Shit!...) _Sanosuke ripped off his traveling cloak and wrapped it around the unresponsive woman. "Mara! Open your eyes!" He shook her harshly, desperate to rouse her up from the cold induced sleep. "Gods! Wake up...dammit...wake up!" His voice caught in the back of his throat as he looked down at her blue-grey lips....and the utter lack of color in her wind chapped cheeks. _(Oh please...please don't do this to me....)_ Sano groaned and puller her snow stiff body tightly against his own. _(Don't you dare leave me....not like this....)_ "DAMMIT MARA.....OPEN YOUR EYES!"

She didn't. Gripping her by the shoulders, Sanosuke shook her roughly, desperately shouting her name. _(Why didn't I stay with her?) _The back of his eyes began to burn with frightened, angry tears. _(She was already half dead from lack of sleep....I could tell she was having a rough time...Gods! I'll never forgive myself if she...if....) _Choking back a sob, he brought her colorless face up towards him, kissing her icy forehead and cheeks while he begged her open her tightly closed eyes. _(If..she doesn't wake up....)_

She was cold...and utterly unresponsive. A rebellious tear streaked down his stubbly face as he struggled to knit together his rapidly unraveling emotions before they fell apart. _(C'mon Sagara...quit being an ass....and think....)_ Closing his eyes against the vision of Mara's snow stained body, he forced his mind back to the two seasons he'd spent on the Tibetan Plateau. _(They know how to treat snow sickness better than anyone else....they have to considering how damn cold it is up there...) _ He recalled how the kind monks had brought him in from the cold...and wrapped his feet and hands with herb suffused linen. _(They taught me how to take care of myself....)_ His eyes shot open. _(How to take care of her!) _

This time, as he pulled her close, he fought down his panic and looked carefully at the doctor...finding to his immense relief that she was still breathing, albeit slowly...and that despite the utter lack of coloring in her face... and the frightening amounts of congealed blood on her skirt...she still had a weak pulse. _(Then there's hope.....)_ Sano carefully picked her up and nestled her against his chest. _(I know what to do...I just need to get her home in time to do it....)_ He flung her badly stained duffel bag over his shoulder and began to run. _(Hang in there babe....) _

_(That's it....)_ Kenshin carefully covered his wife with a blanket, trying not to give into his mounting worry. _(I don't care what she says....or how hard she tries to deny it....)_ He bent down, pressing a tender kiss on her sweaty cheek. _(Something's wrong....)_ He recalled the urgent, almost frantic way that Kaoru had kissed him, the tears he'd tasted on her long black lashes..and the unspoken fear he'd felt emanating from her tender heart despite the torrid tone of their lovemaking. _(Something serious....) _

He ran his hands through her tousled hair, trying to untangle the midnight locks...and to

forget how quickly his wife had become exhausted after loving him, how she'd fallen back against the bedding and tried to catch her breath, unable to do much more than whisper a shaky apology before falling into an uneasy slumber. _(I was selfish tonight....)_ Kenshin briskly rubbed his bare arms...too cold and upset to fall back asleep. _(I should have realized she was too weary for such things....)_ He glared bitterly up at the ceiling, damning himself for giving in to the most natural of desires with the woman he loved. _(The worst part is that Kaoru refuses to tell me what's wrong...she just says that it will pass...that there's no cause for concern....)_

Unable to resist, be lifted the sleeping woman into his arms, holding her in a tight, protective embrace. _(Why can't she understand...that she is my life....?)_ He kissed her slightly open mouth, fighting to understand his wife's unusual silence...and to discern the reason behind it. _(...Is she still angry at me?....Resentful of my leaving her when she needed me most?....Does she know something is wrong...and doesn't have the heart to tell me the bad news?)_

Kenshin shook his head sharply, banishing such dark thoughts before they overwhelmed him. _(No...I'm not going to do this to her...or to myself...As soon as Mara comes home and has a chance to rest, I'll ask her to examine Kaoru and make sure that nothing is amiss...)_ He gasped suddenly, jolted right out of his reverie by a mental jolt of fear that lanced through his weary mind like newly forged katana through tofu. _(What in the name of the Gods is going on?)_

Kenshin closed his eyes and tried to unravel the churning mass of emotions that were coming steadily closer towards his home and family. _(It's Sanosuke....)_ Only his friend had such a bold, brash chi...one that never was repressed or blanketed. _(He's home...with Mara...)_ Reaching out mentally, Kenshin tired to locate the enigmatic doctor, knowing that she too had a mental signature that was utterly unique. _(Unique is an understatement....)_ The former manslayer smiled slightly as he broadened his search, seeking out her vibrant chi that managed to distort time itself. _(In all my life...I've never felt such an aura....)_

His eyes suddenly shot open with alarm when the faint sound of a man's deep voice filtered into the pitch dark bedroom. _(Something's happened to her....)_ Kenshin gently laid his wife on the bed, then quickly fumbled around the tangled sheets looking for his discarded yukata. _(I can't remember the last time I felt Sanosuke this upset....)_ His mouth tightened with worry as the ex-gangster called out again, begging for assistance. _(...or frightened...)_

"Oh...was that...Sanosuke's voice I heard?" Kaoru groaned and tried to sit up. 

"Yes." Kenshin shrugged on his sleeping robe. "Unless I am very mistaken, something has happened to Dr. Mogensen....As soon as you're able...please come and..." 

"Mara!" In a flash, Kaoru was on her feet and stumbling towards the door. 

"Love." Kenshin said in his gentlest tone. "Perhaps you'd like to get dressed first?" He tossed his wife her own yukata.

"Oh." Kaoru blushed. "Thank you dear." Forgetting her weariness, she quickly got dressed, flashed her spouse a brilliant smile in the darkness, then slammed open the bedroom door and sprinted down the hallway, calling out for her friend. _(Oh please don't let it be anything serious...)_ Kaoru's heart leapt up in her throat when Sano called out again, finding that the gruff pleas for assistance nearly undid her. _(..I couldn't bear to lose her...)_ She ran down the hall towards the main entrance...then nearly screamed when Sanosuke slammed open the front door and staggered inside carrying Mara in his arms.

"Momma?" Kenji tottered down the hall. "Daddy?" He yawned and blinked his sleepy eyes, trying to figure out why his parents were up at such a late, late hour. _(Mabey....Mara came home....)_ He grinned and clutched his worn stuffed racoon to his chest. It had been nearly a week since he'd seen his tall friend....an eternally long time for a six year old to wait. _( I bet that's it....)_ He wiped his cold nose on the back of his sleeve and ran down the hall, eager for a treat...a story...and most of all....a hug. "Mara!" He called out as he ran down the hall."Mara! Are you home? I missed you! " 

Kenji bounded around the corner...arms outstretched in happy anticipation. "MARA!" He stumbled...then fell down, eyes wide. _(Mara....)_ She was home...but not the way he wanted her to be. _(Something happened to her....)_ He carefully looked at his friend, unable to understand why she was lying so quiet and still in Sanosuke's strong arms. _(She looks like snow....)_ Kenji cocked his head nervously, wondering what could change her pale lips into such a pretty shade of blue. His heart began to race when his parents rushed over to Sanosuke and helped him set Mara down on the floor. _(Something's wrong....)_

"Sanosuke!" Kenshin gasped, his violet eyes wide with worry. "What in the name of the Gods happened?" __

"I fucked up! That's what happened.!" Sano said harshly as he tried to undo the iced over buttons on Mara's water logged coat. "I should have stayed there with her....made sure she was okay!" He angrily brushed his eyes with the back of his sleeve, then pulled lifted the unconscious woman up into a sitting position. "Kenshin...help me with her." Sanosuke begged as he held her icy body against his own. "We've got to get her outta these clothes before he heart stops." 

"Mara!" Kenji cried out, unable to bear the stressful situation a moment longer. Eyes wide and teary, the six year old sprinted over and threw himself atop the white faced doctor. "Oh! Open your eyes...please....don't be asleep." He patted her icy cheeks with his little hands, too upset to listen to his parent's pleas that he go back to bed. "Wake up...c'mon Mara...wake up!" Glancing up at his heartsick mother...then over to Sanosuke's sad, angry face he finally burst into tears, knowing in his heart that his friend was dead.

"Now..now..." Kenshin gathered his son into his arms, whispering the brave assurances that only a father could. "It's all right Son...she's only asleep."

Sanosuke pulled off Mara's coat and chucked the dripping garment behind him. "He's right kid...she's still with us." His heart sank as he took in the bone white cast to his friend's pale skin, the dirty light blue shade of Mara's open mouth....and the dull, fixed expression in her partially open grey eyes. _(Barely...)_

"Are you sure?" Kenji sniffled as he watched his mother struggle with the frozen laces on Mara's black boots. "She looks dead!"

"I know...but she isn't." Kenshin knelt beside the doctor, pressing his small hand against her icy throat and detecting the barest hint of a pulse. "See?" He took Mara's tightly fisted hand and gently pried open her fingers. "Do you see how her fingers go back into a fist?" He waited until his little boy nodded, then pulled his hand away, allowing Mara's fingers to curl back. "If she were dead, her muscles wouldn't contract. She's just very, very cold." Wrapping Kenji up in a comforting embrace he stood, unwilling to expose his son to such a traumatic scene for another second. "Now...I'm going to take you back to your room and tuck you into bed while Sanosuke goes into the kitchen and brews Mara some nice hot tea." 

"I wanna stay here!" Kenji pouted and tried to wriggle out of his father's steel strong hug. "I need to know that she's gonna be okay!" 

_(You're not the only one!)_ Sanosuke thought as he laid Mara back down on the floor and began to fumble with her blood spattered blouse, cursing roughly as his large, calloused fingers tried to undo the ridiculously small mother of pear buttons that ran from Mara's neck to her navel. "Look Kenshin, if you wanna go and put your kid to bed that's fine...I'm going to stay right here and help Missy..."

"Sanosuke...quit arguing and go make Mara some tea!" Kaoru snapped. She tried to move Sano's hands aside, then froze when she saw the hurt, angry look in the tall man's tired eyes. "I don't think Mara would want you undressing her."

"Just what are you saying?" Sano said tightly. 

"I'm trying to think about her modesty!" Kaoru said in a chastising tone as she tried to figure out how to extricate the doctor out from under several yards of water sodden petticoats. 

"Yeah?" Sanosuke glared at the tiny woman, hurt that even in such a dire situation, she still didn't trust him. "Well, I'm trying to save her life!" He took several deep breaths, trying to get his frazzled temper under control.

"Why don't you just let me take care of this?" Kaoru tried to sound reasonable. "She's a

modest woman and wouldn't want to wake up and find..."

"Kaoru, I'm not going to make a pass at her for shit's sake!" Sano roared. "Dammit...I

know you don't think much of me...but do you really think that I'd try and take advantage of a woman who's half frozen and out cold ?!?" 

"That's enough!" Kenshin said sharply. "This is neither the time nor the place for such a discussion." Hugging his son tightly as he walked back towards the hallway, he glanced back behind him at the bickering pair...slightly dismayed that two people who had once been as close as siblings had somehow grown apart for no apparent reason. 

_ (Oh...there's a reason all right....)_ The darker side of his mind whispered softly, unwilling to stay silent any longer. _(And she's lying on the floor....)_ Pitching his voice so that none would dare argue, Kenshin politely asked that Sanosuke once again remove himself into the kitchen and that Kaoru quickly undress the tall woman before the adverse effects of the blizzard became permanent. _(My wife views Mara as a cherished sister.....And Sano.....)_ With a knowing eye, Kenshin watched as the brown haired man reached down and carefully brushed a curl away from the young doctor's face...then angrily rose and stormed into the kitchen. _(....Sano views her as his mate....) _

_ (How dare she ?!?) _ Sano seethed as he furiously stoked the small kitchen fire, finding that the heat of the flames were no match for the white hot anger in his heart. _(She thinks that I would......)_ He snarled silently and willed the water to boil. _(...that I could...)_ It was unbearable for him...enduring Kaoru's unspoken condemnation and fruitless fears. _(...dishonor a woman that I'd die to protect...)_ __

Leaning against the wall, he closed his eyes, struggling to endure the unfair judgement of a woman who was anything but unjust. _(I don't understand....she's always been so forgiving...)_ He'd seen her find the strength despite a broken heart to follow Kenshin to Kyoto, look past an icy ninja's wrath and pain and see the good man within_, _embrace a broken sobbing man on a beach, giving her enemy a treasured journal in the hopes that it would begin to heal his damaged soul. _(Why won't she give me the same chance?)_

Sanosuke's eyes shimmered with frustration. _(Only the Gods know how hard I've tried to make things right....)_ Since meeting the black haired physician, he'd never allowed himself to step beyond the strict boundaries of their unorthodox friendship...never given in to the dear desires of his heart...or the increasingly powerful demands of his body. _(I wanted to show her...Kaoru...myself...that I've become a good man...one who deserves a second chance to regain lost trust....)_ He looked down at his bandaged hand, remembering the care and tenderness Mara had shown him despite her fatigue. _(...and the hope of earning a good woman's regard....)_

"Sanosuke?" Kaoru's tired voice jolted him from his thoughts. "How is the tea coming?" 

"Uh..almost done." He bent over the simmering pot, trying to gauge the temperature. "I'm gonna need something sweet though to add to it." Sanosuke stood and began rummaging through the canisters and boxes, determined to put aside his hurt feelings and wounded pride for Mara's sake. "I don't suppose you have a jar of honey...or some sweetening syrup hiding somewhere?"

Kaoru paused and looked towards the lamp lit kitchen. "Yes. There's a small jar of imported honey in the pantry. Tae gave it to me to try." She winced as the sound of something shattering on the floor reverberated through the quiet house. 

"Oops." Sano's voice sounded sheepish. "Sorry bout that."

"Why do you need the honey for?" Kaoru wondered patiently as she pulled off the last of the petticoats. 

"Beats the hell outta me...I just know it helps warm a person up." Sano muttered as he tried to pour the scalding hot water into a tipsy porcelain tea cup. _(C'mon Sagara....don't spill...)_

"Well, don't add too much...you know Mara likes her tea straight." _(And I like my kitchen in one piece....)_ She groaned when the ex-fighter yelled, and dropped what she assumed was a another tea cup on her freshly mopped floor. 

"Are you all right in there?" Kaoru asked testily as she tried to undo the ridiculously small buttons that graced Mara's linen blouse. _(Gods...why couldn't she have chosen something that isn't so damn difficult to take of ?)_ "

"Yeah...sure...no worries." Sano blew on his burned fingers, trying to keep his manly composure together. _(That hurt!) _He glanced down at the broken tea cups and puddles of hot water and inwardly groaned. _(So much for making a good impression in the kitchen....)_ "I'll be done in just a minute." 

"Take your time....I'm afraid that you're going to have to boil some more water." Kaoru carefully peeled off the torn pantaloons from Mara's long, pale legs, sucking in her breath when she saw that her friend's left knee was terribly swollen and bleeding badly from a jagged gash that extended from her upper thigh to her knee.. "I've got a leg in here that needs to be cleaned and sewed before infection sets in!" 

The kitchen became suddenly still. "How bad is it?" 

Kaoru pulled off the blood clotted bandages and grimaced. "Bad." She gingerly pressed her fingers against the torn and bleeding tissue. "She's got a deep cut on her leg and it looks like her knee has been jarred from the socket." _(Mara, you idiot, why didn't you wait for someone to come and walk you home ?!?) _

"You'd better have Kenshin take a look at that." Sano called out as he began heating more water. "Deep wounds are the most dangerous."

"Take a look at what?" Kenshin asked as he hurried down the hallway. He paused first, making sure that his wife had time to properly cover the doctor with a blanket before he began to examine her injured leg. Bending down, he looked carefully at the terrible bruise that was forming on the side of Mara's knee and thigh. "It looks as though she was either struck by something....or fell from a high distance." He frowned and ran his slender hands along the woman's legs, checking carefully for any signs of broken bones. 

"Love?" Kenshin said quietly, not wanting to disturb his friend in the kitchen. "Would you please check and see if Dr. Mogensen has any other injuries that we're not aware of?" He indicated the doctor's blanket covered torso. 

Kaoru nodded and reached under the blanket, fumbling slightly with the multitude of buttons on her friend's lacy camisole. "Did you get Kenji to bed all right?"

Kenshin stood up and looked away when his wife was forced to push the blanket aside. "Yes...after promising him that he can check on Dr. Mogensen first thing in the morning." Despite the serious situation, the small man smiled.

"Oh!" Kaoru gasped and quickly covered up Mara, too shocked and upset to keep silent.

"Love...what's wrong?" Kenshin turned slightly towards his wife. 

Kaoru looked up at him with a confused angry expression, gripping the blanket tightly in her small, sword calloused hands. "Kenshin...I...think there's something that you need to see."

"She has other injuries, doesn't she?" Kenshin bent down beside his suddenly pale wife, fearing the worst. 

"Yes...but they are...well..." Kaoru sighed and carefully pulled down the blanket. "Are these what I think they are?"

Kenshin stared down at Mara's exposed chest, his expression changing from one of deep concern to protective anger._ (Dear Gods....what happened to her?) _He reached out and carefully ran his hand over a massive scar that covered the left side of the woman's lower abdomen. In his life, he had seen more scars than any man should...and knew what caused those marks of suffering. _(But these...these are different...)_ His violet eyes narrowed as he examined the other scar that radiated out from Mara's left shoulder and down her slender arm like a macabre spider's web. _(Even Kanryuu's gattling gun didn't do this sort of damage....)_ The ex-assassin ran a finger over the puckered scars, and shook his head, slightly hurt that Mara had kept such a thing from them_. (We of all people would understand about scarring....)_

"Hey Missy...are you about finished?" Sano poked his head into the room, tea in hand. 

He tapped his foot impatiently, called out again to an unusually silent Kaoru, then turned his attention to Kenshin, noticing with concern that the smaller man's face had become pale...and

that the former manslayer was pressing a slender hand against the cross shaped scar that marred his delicate features.. 

"Hey...what's up?" He asked again...then walked over and without thinking, looked down at Mara's exposed torso...and nearly died. "What the hell!" He croaked. _(This can't be !!!)_ He bent down, looking at what appeared to be a large exit wound that marred the milky whiteness of Mara's abdomen, radiating towards her left hip in a hatefully perfect pattern. _(There has to be another explanation....)_ His confusion grew as he continued to examine the woman's bare skin, finding to his horror...and rapidly returning anger that there was a similar wound that covered her left shoulder.

"This isn't possible !" Sano knelt down, put the tea on the floor, then carefully pulled Mara up into a sitting position, whispering a heartfelt apology when the movement caused his friend to cry out in her sleep and try to pull away. He closed his eyes as he ran his hand over her exposed back, finding the entry wounds that he'd been dreading. _(But it is....)_ He suddenly felt sick. _(Someone shot her...twice...)_"What the hell happened ? I...I...don't understand." It made no sense. She was a doctor....and a woman to boot. "Where in the hell would she have been exposed to such dangerous conditions ?" He paused and ran his hand back over the terrible scars. _(Why didn't she tell me ?)_ The unanswered question only made him more upset. 

"I don't know." Kenshin whispered, mapping the trajectory of the bullets in his mind. "What troubles me...is that she was shot at very close range." He looked down at the massive exit wounds that marred the perfection of the woman's alabaster skin. "...and in the back...."

"If I ever find the bastard that did this to her...." Sanosuke snarled as he clenched his massive hands into murderous fists. "I'll rip him apart !" He tried to clamp down on the murderous wave of fury that was threatening to overtake him._ (Someone hurt her...tried to kill her!...)_ His heart pounded loudly in his head. _(Why?!?)_

"Try and stay calm." Kenshin said quietly, catching Sanosuke by the wrist. "I know that you're angry and upset." He looked over at his wife and sighed, seeing in her brilliant blue eyes the same outrage and confusion that he himself was struggling to contain. "We all are....but our questions will have to wait until Dr. Mogensen is awake....and out of danger."

Sanosuke reached over and grabbed mara's damp medical bag and angrily began rummaging through its contents. "She should have told us....we would have understood!" He pulled out several yards of linen, a nearly empty container of healing salve and a small surgeon's kit, complete with needles and thread. 

"This is true." Kenshin conceded. "But unless I am sadly mistaken, this woman has had precious little experience dealing with people of an understanding nature." He looked over at Sanosuke, hoping that the tall man would understand what he was trying to say. "Think about the way she reacts when she thinks that you are upset....or disappointed." He rose to his feet and walked towards the kitchen, intent on getting a pan of heated water. "She has scars Sano...scars that go far deeper and are of a far more serious nature that the ones that mar her body."

Sanosuke looked down at the Mara's delicate face and sighed. "The other day...she thought I was angry at her...that I didn't like the clothing she bought me for my birthday." He tenderly brushed back a wayward curl from the woman's face, then looked over at Kaoru. "She acted like I was gonna yell at her...or...even hit her." His voice dropped to a miserable rumble. "Do you know how badly that hurt...seeing the fear in her eyes, knowing that I had somehow managed to scare her?"

"Sano...I..." Kaoru stammered. "You don't need to say anything...I know that you'd never.." She looked away, suddenly ashamed of her mistrustful behavior earlier that evening.

"No...you don't." Sanosuke whispered gruffly as he tenderly examined each of Mara's white toes and fingers. "And that....makes it worse." He blinked angrily, trying to keep his tattered emotions in check. "I'm no gentleman...I never have been, and by the Gods I probably never will be." Sanosuke looked right at Kaoru. "But I swear....as a man...and on the friendship we once had....that I've never....NEVER done anything to warrant Mara's fear...or your own mistrust." His eyes burned with a heartbreaking mixture of blatant honesty and deep regret. "I would die before dishonoring a woman....especially one that...that...." He bent his head, unable to continue.

_(A woman that you love....) _Kaoru's thoughts were thick with unshed tears. She watched as the ex-gangster carefully bandaged the tall woman's toes and feet...touched at the tenderness she saw in his battle scarred hands....and deeply hurt at his assertion that she was no longer one whom he considered a friend. _(Why shouldn't he think that ?....)_ She bit her bottom lip and tried to focus on getting Mara dressed in a sleeping robe. _(I've treated him with far too much contempt...and shown him far too little forgiveness....)_

"Did...did you love her?" Kaoru forced herself to ask the question...to mention the name that had hung between their friendship like a burial shroud. "Did you love Megumi?" 

"With all my heart." It was no more than a painful whisper in the lamp lit room, a painful acknowledgment of an unbearable loss.

"And Mara?" Kaoru leaned forward, trying to keep her voice steady. "Do you love her as well?" 

Sanosuke shuddered as though he'd been run through with a sword. He lifted his eyes hesitantly towards the woman he'd long regarded as a younger sister, unsure why she was asking such painful questions at such an importune time. "You know I do." _(That's why you've gone out of your way to keep us apart...to let me know in no uncertain terms that you'd rather see Mara paired up with a swamp adder rather than risking herself to a man like me....)_

Kaoru loosely tied Mara's yukata, unable to meet Sanosuke's unflinching gaze._(Is it possible that I've misjudged him ?) _She fixed her weary eyes on the floor, terribly aware that in her attempts to deal with an impossible situation nearly seven years before....she had reluctantly assumed the worse about the jobless fighter...allowing her biases against his background and in favor of Megumi's gender to cloud her mind and heart to the underlying truth of the matter. _(I didn't know what to think...what to do...)_ In Kaoru's mind, no honorable woman could possibly lie about such a thing....nor would any decent man willingly admit to succumbing to base passions and engaging in unmarried sexual congress with an intoxicated woman.

_(Oh...but he did....at least he tried to....)_ Sanosuke had been desperate to explain himself...telling her in his typical blunt manner that in a moment of weakness, he had messed everything up with the cinnamon eyed beauty...allowing a night of alcohol tinged lovemaking to break his heart, earn a woman's hatred and ruin a hard won friendship. _(He wept right in front of me...begged me to help him make things right with Megumi....with me)_ Shame nipped at her heart as she remembered her utter lack of compassion at such a critical moment. _(I told him he was no longer a man I could trust...that I wanted him to stay away until things could be sorted out...)_ Little had she known that the seven year separation would have occurred so soon after that conversation...or would span several continents. _(I never had the chance to consider his side of the story...or to apologize for my harsh words and unkind manners....)_

Still....one had to be careful. _(I've learned in the passing years that even the best men can make mistakes....harm the ones they love...)_ She glanced quickly over at her husband, and wondered if Kenshin knew the depths of the devastation he had wrought on her heart and mind with his long absences and perpetual self exile. _(He was so intent on finding his own redemption...that he was willing to abandon his family and break my heart...)_ She instinctively put one hand on her still taunt stomach and thought of the tiny life growing withing her damaged womb. _(Even now...after more than a year with him by my side...my fear of being abandoned again or losing this precious little one within me is strong enough to keep me silent...)_

Her sad blue eyes drifted back to the tall man, kneeling beside her. _(I heard him scream at Megumi...I saw where her nails raked across his face....the terrible anger in his eyes as he pressed his arm up against her throat...) _The memory alone caused her to feel ill and frightened. _(I wish it had been Kenshin who had burst into that damn clinic...unlike me...he would have known instantly who was telling the truth...and who was willing to lie about such a terrible act....)_ But fate...and the mental agony of Enishi's Jinchuu had decreed otherwise. _(Kenshin could barely walk...barely eat....the weight of such a discovery would have broken his heart...) _She sighed and tried to smooth out a wrinkle in her yukata. _(...and so I never told him...never confessed my fears to a man who is far wiser than I'll ever be...)_

"I'm...sorry." She was unsure whether the unsteady apology was intended for Kenshin...for Sanosuke or for herself.

"Just forget about it...okay?" Sanosuke grumbled as he carefully wrapped Mara up in a blanket, taking extreme care not to touch her injured leg with the coarse woolen fabric.

"Sorry for the delay." Kenshin called out as he silently stepped out from the kitchen. "There was a slight mess that needed cleaning up." _(Three broken teacups, an overturned cannister of tea and a minor flood on the kitchen floor....)_ He smiled blandly, knowing that his absence had also given Kaoru and Sanosuke time to hopefully begin to work out their differences. _(It has pained me to see them at odds....)_ Kenshin bent down and carefully began to clean Mara's leg, making sure that he didn't allow a drop of bloody water to stain her yukata. _(...especially over a mutual friend....)_

In moments, her knee was clean and dry...and ready for sewing. "Kaoru, as soon as I force her knee back into place, I'm going to begin sewing." Kenshin said quietly. "Sanosuke..hold her tightly. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this rouses her in a rather unpleasant manner."

"I understand." Sano nodded grimly, wrapping his powerful arms around the slender woman. _(Dammit babe....just sleep through this...don't make this any harder than it is....)_

Kenshin carefully positioned his strong hands around the damaged knee and took a deep breath. "Are you ready?" Kaoru and Sanosuke nodded. 

With a sickening pop Kenshin forced the battered limb back into its proper place, wincing inwardly when his actions caused Mara to stiffen...and scream raggedly with pain.

Grey eyes slammed open with shock as white hot pain radiated up an already inflamed leg. "Gods!" Mara screamed, too disorientated to realize where she was...and whom she was with. "Get the hell away from me!" She tried to kick...to twist...to do anything but lie there in helpless agony. Snarling ferally she threw herself backwards, desperate to escape from the madly spinning world that had so abruptly replaced her snow soaked dreams.

"Dammit Mara...hold still!" Sano ordered. "You're home...and safe. Kenshin's trying to fix your leg!" He winced as the fragile looking woman slammed her head into his jaw, making him see stars.

"Mara...it's us!" Kaoru caught her friend by the hand, shocked that the normally reserved woman was cursing violently and doing her level best to kick Kenshin in the face with her uninjured leg. "You've got to hold still...you've been hurt!"

"Shit Kenshin! Watch her toes!" Sano cautioned as the tall woman nearly knocked him over. "She's got frostbite of four of em!" 

"I'm working on it." Kenshin said calmly as the doctor's powerful leg missed his ear by mere inches. "Perhaps you should hold her down a little more tightly until the disorientation passes?"

"Why is she doing this?" Kaoru cried as she tried to keep Mara's injured knee from popping back out of the socket.

"She's got snow sickness." Sano snapped as he slapped his hand over the screaming woman's mouth and pushed her gently to the floor. "She doesn't recognize us....and won't until her body warms up a bit more." 

"Let me go!" Mara hissed, unable to focus on the blurry forms that were causing her such pain. Her ice numbed senses were screaming gibberish....sending her groggy mind conflicting signals...and allowing primal fears to run rampant through her adrenalin enhanced blood stream. She bucked hard against one form in particular, a tall powerful shape that seemed intent on holding her down. "You bastard! Get your fucking hands off of me!" She bit down hard against a muscular palm, finding dark satisfaction when she tasted the metallic tang of blood on her tongue. 

"Kenshin can't sew her up like this!" Kaoru whispered frantically. "Do something!"

"Like what?" Sanosuke growled, trying to keep Mara from shouting without getting bitten again. "It's not like I can clobber her with a right hook or anything!" He jerked his bleeding hand away from the incensed woman and tried to think. "I don't suppose there's any spare anesthesia in that damn medical bag?"

"No..she used it all at the clinic." Kenshin panted as he pinned Mara's unhurt leg with his body. "If we can't keep her still she's going to seriously injure herself!" 

"You've got to let me go!" Even in the throes of hypothermic delirium Mara grasped desperately at the straws of reason. Blinking wearily at the half shadowed shapes that were swimming before her ice damaged eyes she tried not to give into terror. "He's waiting for me...he'll come looking soon." She reached down and dug her fingers into the wooden floor, praying that the pain of wood splinters under her fingernails would keep the vertigo at bay. "...if he finds that you've harmed me....he'll rip you apart..." The thought made her tremble. "..they'll take him away..." She chocked back a sob and gazed wildly up at the distorted creatures. "...and I'll lose him..." Her panic subsided slightly when she felt a strong...but gentle hand touch her face ...bidding softly that she be calm.

"You're not going to lose anyone." Sano bent down and tenderly cupped Mara's trembling face, humbled that even in her delirious state, she was thinking of him. "Easy now...it's all right." He motioned to Kenshin to release the woman's legs, hoping that this particularly risky gamble would pay off. "I'm right here..." Pitching his voice until it was a soothingly deep croon, he laid down beside the doctor, giving her the space she needed without putting her further at risk for injury. "You're home and safe..."

"Sano?" Mara turned towards the blessedly familiar voice...desperate for any solid reassurance. "What's wrong with me ?" She closed her eyes against the ragged shapes and spinning lamp light, focusing only on the deep but badly distorted voice of her friend. "I....I..can't see...you...and your voice...sounds so strange..." She clumsily reached out...searching for and finding a warm calloused hand. "I'm...so...cold...and my leg.." Her voice cracked. "...There's something wrong with my leg..."

"You're gonna be just fine." Sanosuke whispered, holding Mara's cold hand tightly in his own. "Kenshin and Kaoru are here with me....they're trying to sew up your poor knee before it gets infected." 

"Kaoru?" Mara's speech was slurred and slow. "You should be...in bed...resting." She tried to sit up. "You...have to be careful!..." She collapsed back on her elbows, too exhausted to even sit up _(You've got to take care of your baby....)_

"I'm fine." Kaoru whispered as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Just lie still....please." She took Mara's other hand and kissed it. "We're so glad that you're home...and safe."

"That we are." Kenshin said softly, thankful that a combination of Sano's quick thinking and Mara's innate intelligence had been enough to forestall any further injury to the young doctor. "Mara...your right knee is seriously injured and in need of medical attention. I've managed to get the knee back into its proper place...but you have a serious wound that requires stitching." His face fell as he looked into her clouded grey eyes. _(She can't see us...and is relying only on the sounds of our voices...)_ "I need you to try and help me....tell me what to do."

Mara swallowed hard and tried to force her ice addled mind into a more scientific mode. "How...deep is it?" Strong tremors began radiating from her lower back and legs, causing her entire body to shake uncontrollably.

"Nearly to the bone." Kenshin said with as little emotion as possible. "I'm concerned about infection settling into the damaged tissue." 

"The coldness...should help....a little." She whispered, trying not to roll up into a miserable shivering ball. "In..my..bag...is a glass bottle with a green label. Pour it into the wound, allowing full saturation."

Kenshin nodded and quickly found the appropriate bottle. He carefully opened the vial, then sniffed gingerly. "Doctor, this is rubbing alcohol!"

Mara tried to smile. "It's all I have left. Pour it on the wound...wait thirty seconds..then start sewing." She took several deep breaths, trying to mentally prepare for the ordeal. "Make sure the needle has been heat sterilized as well." 

"This is gonna hurt like hell." Sano warned sadly, knowing that it had to be done nevertheless. "Is there anything I can do to help ya?"

Even as cold as she was...Mara managed to blush. "Would...would you mind holding me...just in case?" Her sluggish heartbeat quickened when the man gave his assent and picked her up, cradling her gently against his muscular chest. 

"Put your arms around me Mara and close your eyes." Sano said firmly. "Keep em shut until I say so." He looked down at the white faced woman, dreading what was about to occur.

"Don't worry...I'll be fine." Mara tried to reassure her friend. "Besides...it's not like I can see a damn thing anyway." She wrapped her unsteady arms around Sano's strong neck and tried to be still.

"Are you ready?" Kaoru said quietly, positioning the bottle of alcohol above the deep gash on Mara's leg. She waited until the doctor nodded slightly, then turned to her husband waiting for his signal. 

"Sanosuke. Cover her mouth." Kenshin said firmly. "I don't want Kenji to hear this."

"I won't scream." Mara protested softly until she tried to move her injured leg and nearly burst into tears. "On second thought....cover my mouth."

"You gonna bite me this time?" Sano half teased, impressed with the woman's bravery.

"I might." Mara snapped as she screwed her eyes shut. "Do it...before I change my mind."

Kaoru took a deep breath...then began to pour. 

For a millisecond, Mara was able to withstand the pain....then it began to burn. _(Gods...it hurts...)_ She took a shuddering breath, trying to ignore the sensation of rubbing alcohol washing over raw, exposed nerve endings..setting her skin and blood on fire. _(...it hurts...)_ Her muscles began to involuntarily spasm...unable to escape the ungodly pain. _(...IT HURTS !!!!...)_

_ (C'mon babe...)_ Sanosuke pulled Mara tightly against him, pressing his hand tightly against her clammy mouth. _(Hang in there...)_ He could tell she was in terrible pain by the way her hands fisted spasmodically into his gi...and the involuntary shudders that rolled down her thin body like waves. _(Still...she's keeping her promise to Kenshin....)_ He groaned when the poor woman shuddered against him...and the first hot tears spilled out of her wide agonized eyes onto his hand. _(She isn't screaming....Hell...she isn't making a sound...)_

_ (Think of Kenji...think of Kenji....)_ Mara threw her head back and silently sobbed, refusing to give into the desire to scream and run away from the terrible pain. _(He's a baby....needs to sleep....can't scare him...)_ She could feel every inch of her leg....could smell the pungent mixture of her blood mixing with the alcohol...could taste the bile rising in her throat and the tears pooling at the corner of her mouth. _(Think of Kenji....think of Kenji...think....) _A strange tugging sensation began to pull her mind apart...sending her tumbling back down towards the dark pit of shock induced sleep. __

_ (I can't do this to her....)_ Sanosuke felt wretched. _(Kenshin should stop...give her a break....wait till tomorrow....)_ He looked over at the red headed man...and found to his dismay that the ex-swordsman was about to begin sewing up the ragged pieces of torn tissue. "Hold on to me sweetheart...just hold on."

Mara turned and buried her face in the crook of Sano's neck, knowing what was about to happen. _(It needs to be done....)_ She stiffened with shock when he felt the heated needle pass through the individual dermal layers...and down...down into muscle...right near her bones. _(Oh SHIT....shit...shit....) _It was all she could do not to scream...not to weep....not to pass right out into blessed oblivion. _(I can't do this...it's too much....it hurts....)_ Mara couldn't breathe...couldn't think....couldn't exist beyond each agonizing stitch.

"Dammit man...hurry!" Sano hissed as he tried to rub Mara's trembling back...hold her closer...anything to ease her suffering. 

"I have to do this carefully!" Kenshin said tightly, trying to feel his way around the complex muscle groups that made up a human leg. "The wound is deep and if I am sloppy in my stitching she'll get an infection and possibly lose her leg...or her life!" He hardened his heart against the sight of Mara in so much pain...and focused instead on her steely courage, knowing that she struggled to keep silent for the sake of his sleeping son. 

"He's almost finished Mara." Kaoru said softly as she wiped the other woman's sweat soaked brow. "Just a few more minutes...and it will be over." She covered her mouth with her hands when Mara turned and looked at her, horrified to see that the doctor had nearly bitten through her bottom lip with her even white teeth in the attempt not to make a sound...and that thin mixture of blood and tears were running in between Sanosuke's fingers. "Oh Kenshin...hurry...hurry!"

Mara shook her head angrily, jerking away from Sanosuke's hand. "No!" She panted, keeping her voice below the level of a whisper. "He needs to do it right!" She narrowed her eyes, trying to focus on the slender man causing her so much pain. "Take your time...I will manage!" With that curt encouragement she turned back and pressed her face against Sanosuke..trying mightily not to sob. 

"You're doing a hell of a job hanging in there." Sano whispered proudly into her hair. His heart tightened painfully as he watched her pale face become chalky white and felt her already cool skin become cold...and clammy. _(Her poor body can't take much more of this...) _Knowing that his friend was about to pass out, he held her tightly...counting the seconds until she was no longer in such pain.

"Sanosuke..." Mara groaned, shaking too badly too speak. Her world was shrinking again...spinning slowly around a inky abyss that was threatening to consume her. _(I can't breathe...can't think! )_ Her strong mind suddenly recoiled against the darkness, preferring agony to oblivion. 

Sano swore when Mara began to shudder violently against him. "Dammit Mara, if you don't hold still you're gonna get hurt!" He tilted her weary face up...then gasped when he realized that the proud, stoic doctor was silently weeping "Aww...Babe...". _(I forget sometimes....) _His brown eyes softened....and his tight grip around her trembling body became kind and gentle. _(...that she isn't as tough as she pretends to be....) _"I'm right here...you're safe...." He whispered, watching as her snow blind eyes tracked the sound of his low voice. 

Mara gasped and opened her mouth in a silent scream when she felt the tip of the needle graze against bone...and whispered frantically for her friend...knowing she was nearing the end of her endurance. "Sano." His name emerged as a ragged moan, no louder than a painful whisper. "Help me..." She clutched frantically at Sanosuke's back, unaware that her nails were digging into the sensitive skin."It hurts!" 

"I know it does." Sanosuke's jaw tightened when Kenshin tied a silken knot in his grisly handiwork. _(Thank the Gods, we're almost finished....)_ He sighed with relief when Kaoru cut the black thread and positioned the half empty bottle of alcohol above the jagged stitches, knowing that the fiery pain that would soon engulf his friend was a blessing in disguise. _(...The second that alcohol hits her knee, it'll be all over....) _"Hold me tightly Mara....." He ordered, smiling grimly as he felt her trembling arms wrap around waist. "That's it Love...hold me tight." 

Kaoru watched in amazement as the gruff fighter bent down and carefully covered Mara's mouth for the second time that evening, whispering soft endearments as he prepared his friend for this final ordeal. _(I never knew....he could be so gentle...)_ Her own eyes welled up when Sanosuke brushed his thumb over Mara's bleeding lip, trying to rid the pale skin of the bloodstains. _(So kind...)_ Kaoru looked away from the tender couple...and made a choice. _(He's not the man he was seven years ago.....)_ Fighting against the urge to close her eyes, she began to pour, wincing when Mara took a shuddering breath....then went limp in the ex-gangster's embrace, knowing that her friend's silence was dearly purchased indeed. _(...and she's not Megumi....)_

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Author's rants...and ramblings

Here is some more information on what Enishi was thinking about concerning traditional Japanese Funeral Rites.

Matsugo-no-mizu : Water of the last moment 

1. Giving water to the deceased in hopes of his/her revival. Prepare a new writing brush or splittable chopsticks, cover its and with sanitary cotton in water by which thread and then soak the sanitary cotton in water by which the lip of the deceased is moistened

Shinishozoku : A dress for a journey to eternity 

1. The deceased is put on so called a grave clothes, a hood and a money pouch containing six pieces of money. This costume has a close resemblance to the traveling outfit in old days. So the SHINISHOZOKU can be regarded as the costume for starting on a journey to eternity. The six pieces of money in the pouch are said to be used as ferriage for crossing Japanese Styx. 

Kitamakura : Turning the dead person's head to the north 

1. According to the teaching how Buddha entered Nirvana, the dead person s head is turned to the north. If the body cannot be headed to the north for a certain reason, it may be turned to the west. 

And, for your reading pleasure...some insight on the treatment and symptoms of hypothermia. (Courtesy of Princeton University)

Hypothermia - "a decrease in the core body temperature to a level at which normal muscular and cerebral functions are impaired." - Medicine for Mountaineering 

Conditions Leading to Hypothermia 

Cold temperatures, Improper clothing and equipment , Wetness , Fatigue, exhaustion , Dehydration , Poor food intake , No knowledge of hypothermia , Alcohol intake - causes vasodilator leading to increased heat loss 

4. Signs and Symptoms of Moderate to Severe Hypothermia (this is what Mara was suffering from) 

Moderate Hypothermia - core temperature 95 - 93 degrees F 

Dazed consciousness, Loss of fine motor coordination - particularly in hands - can't zip up parka, due to restricted peripheral blood flow 

Slurred speech , Violent shivering , Irrational behavior - Paradoxical Undressing - person starts to take off clothing, unaware s/he is cold 

"I don't care attitude" - flattened affect 

Severe Hypothermia - core temperature 92 - 86 degrees and below _(immediately life threatening)_

Shivering occurs in waves, violent then pause, pauses get longer until shivering finally ceases - because the heat output from burning glycogen in the muscles is not sufficient   
to counteract the continually dropping core temperature, the body shuts down on shivering to conserve glucose 

Person falls to the ground, can't walk, curls up into a fetal position to conserve heat 

Muscle rigidity develops - because peripheral blood flow is reduced and due to lactic acid and CO2 buildup in the muscles 

Skin is pale , Pupils dilate , Pulse rate decreases , at 90 degrees the body tries to move into hibernation, shutting down all peripheral blood flow and reducing breathing rate and heart rate. A 86 degrees the body is in a state of "metabolic icebox." The person looks dead but is still alive. 

5. How to Assess if someone is Hypothermic 

If shivering can be stopped voluntarily = mild hypothermia 

Ask the person a question that requires higher reasoning in the brain (count backwards from 100 by 9's). If the person is hypothermic, they won't be able to do it. [Note: there are also other conditions such as altitude sickness that can also cause the same condition.] 

If shivering cannot be stopped voluntarily = moderate - severe hypothermia 

If you can't get a radial pulse at the wrist it indicates a core temp below 90 - 86 degrees 

The person may be curled up in a fetal position. Try to open their arm up from the fetal position, if it curls back up, the person is alive. Dead muscles won't contract only live muscles. 

  


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I don't own, nor did I create any of the RK Characters. I DO however have dubs on all the ORIGINAL CHARACTERS in this story, including..but not limited to Mara Mogensen, Erik Reynolds and our favorite English Snake in the Grass, Edward Thornton. 

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	11. For Nothing is Fixed Parts 1 & 2

I got a review by a wonderful anonymous reader who said it was a shame that I'd abandoned this story. That sat very ill with me and I made it one of my goals this year to finish this story no matter what.

Between the time that I posted my first chapter and today, I've had many changes in my life. I lost a child (a beautiful daughter) and gave birth to a child (a handsome, impish son) moved three times, purchased a home, adopted a dog and have grown professionally and personally through many sorrows, adventures and joys. Through it all, the deep love that I have for this story and for the characters has been a constant, so please accept my sincere apologies and enjoy this story - which is not abandoned but happily in progress.

Chapter 11 has been revamped and have major sections that are new. Chapter 12, which has been removed during the editing process will be up shortly and also have a lot of new content, including a new scene with Kenshin, Kaoru and Kenji. Chapter 13, which will be new is halfway done and will be posted in April 2012, along with a separate website that goes more into the history of this time period, so that you can see what I had in my mind's eye when I was writing this.

If you have any questions, complaints or suggestions leave a review with your information and I will personally get back with you. Thank you for your continued support of this story and its author.

Warmest Regards,

MightyMightyMunson

**AS TIME GOES BY**

Chapter 11 - Rewritten March 2012

FOR NOTHING IS FIXED PART I (Please note that this chapter contains some adult subject manner and language)

This takes place eight weeks weeks after the occurrences in chapter 10

**Please note that chapters 11, 12 and 13 are being revamped and have signifigant changes to the storyline. **

**Your humble author suggests that you re-read so that you don't miss critical changes to the plot.  
**

_For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out._

_James Baldwin_

_**PART 1**_

_**Early Morning, Kenshin and Karou's Kitchen**  
_

"And this?" Kenshin pointed to the page, his violet eyes warm with approval.

Kenji frowned ferociously, his sharp mind devouring the bright illustrations and exotic letters. "The little dog..." He pointed to a particularly long word, unsure of the pronunciation.

"Laughed..." Kenshin prompted softly, struggling to pronounce the difficult English word.

"The little dog laughed, to see such...sport...and the dish ran...away with the spoon!" Kenji looked up at his father, beaming proudly. "Look Daddy. I finished the whole book all by myself!"

"Yes, you did." Impulsively, Kenshin gave the six-year-old a tight hug, laughing when the boy threw his arms around his neck, demanding another story book to read. He returned the gesture, delighting in the baby fine texture of the boy's red hair as it tickled his nose.

With a cheery whoop, Kenji looked over at Kaoru, eager for more praise and hoping that his accomplishment might make his poor mother feel a bit better. "Did you like the story Momma?"

"Very much!" Kaoru forced a bright smile to her pale face, determined not to ruin such a happy moment with her perpetual state of nausea. "You are such a smart boy."

"I know." Kenji grinned, knowing it to be true.

_(And a humble one as well . . . )_ Kenshin laughed softly as his son leapt on him for a bit of post breakfast roughhousing. With the deftness that only an experienced father processes, he managed to avoid getting his hair pulled as the rambunctious child clamored over his back, earnestly demanding his undivided attention. "I'm so proud of you, Son."

Kenji paused mid pounce. "You are?"

Kenshin nodded, his ageless face taking on a wistful . . . almost regretful countenances. "Of course I am." He reached over and picked up the lavishly bound book of poems, wishing that he didn't struggle so with the strange English words that his child so easily mastered. "Of all the things this world has to offer, an education is one of the most priceless."

His thoughts drifted back to his own childhood, a period consisting of loss and sickness, blood and brutality. _(My parents were too busy trying to survive to bother with such things . . . )_ Other memories drifted up, painful images of his weeping mother cradling his father's cholera ridden body, the sound of his frantic screams as slavers pulled him away from his older brother . . . the horrific arc of crimson that had blossomed across a young woman's throat as she gave her life up to save his own.

"My Love," Kaoru's soft voice cut through the pain. "There are many ways for a child to learn_." (He struggles with this so . . . the idea that he is somehow less than he should be . . . )_. "Each of them is equally important."

"Kaoru is right." A sleepy voice could be heard coming slowly down the hall. "An education is as worthless as snake spit if you don't know how to apply it." Yahiko rounded the corner, his empty stomach grumbling loudly. "Take a look at Mara." He muttered grumpily as she staggered toward the kitchen.

"Yahiko, don't be an idiot!" Kaoru protested angrily. "She was exhausted and overworked! It was snowing! We're lucky that . . . " She blanched and fisted her hands into her worn kimono. _(... that things didn't end up much, much worse . . . )_ "You have no right to talk about her that way!"

_(Anyone with a brain between their ears would have waited for the police to return rather than chasing that white haired asshole down the street at three in the morning in the middle of a blizzard . . . )_ Yahiko rolled his eyes, still upset that Mara had been so reckless . . . and that he had not been there to keep her from nearly getting killed. "She should have known better."

Kaoru's blue eyes snapped dangerously, her hot temper rising up from beneath the ever-present morning sickness. "If I hear one more comment like that, you're going to be spending the rest of the day cleaning the dojo."

"I was planning on doing that anyway." Yahiko muttered sourly as he staggered into the kitchen. As soon as he was out of Kaoru's sight, he doubled over in agony and clutched his stomach, unsure whether the sharp, burning pain inside was simply from hunger, or the result of near constant worrying for who knows how long. _(Gods, I'm pathetic worrying about whether or not Enishi is back . . . ) _Swearing softly, he leaned against the kitchen wall and pulled out a crumpled up letter, one that he'd barely managed to intercept the day before_. (...I've got enough real problems to deal with . . . )_ It was another letter from the Japanese government, a letter that threatened to rip Kenshin away from his family at the worst possible time. _( Kaoru's pregnant, Mara is still not out of the woods as far as her leg goes . . . and I'm trying to plan my own wedding . . . )_ Blinking hard against the unmanly tears that were threatening, Yahiko shoved the letter back into his pocket and tried to convince himself that he was a brave adult swordsman, not an eighteen-year-old kid who was scared shitless.

Kenji held his book tightly against his chest. _(Something is wrong . . . )_ He glanced over at his parents . . . then turned his gaze to the kitchen. _( Something serious . . . ) _A thoughtful frown formed, one that mirrored his father's. "Mommy, why is Yahiko so grumpy?"

Kaoru forced herself to smile, pushing down her own concerns in the face of her child's keen perception. "I don't know sweetheart. Perhaps he just has a lot on him mind right now."

"I'll betcha he's thinking about the bad man again." Kenji said quietly. Despite his parent's best attempts at shielding him, he knew full well that a white-haired man had been involved in Mara's accident, a man who was dangerous enough to make his father have bad dreams at night and mean enough to make his mommy cry. Hot, protective anger welled up within him at the thought.

"Don't you worry." He reached over and patted his mother's hand reassuringly. "If that man comes here, he'll get caught in one of my tiger traps." Kenji smiled confidently, knowing that the three new holes that he'd dug in the courtyard would keep his family safe. "He doesn't stand a chance against me."

"Kenji." Trying to keep his voice calm, Kenshin pulled his son close, praying that there had been a mistake that the man who still haunted his dreams had not returned to Tokyo. "I need you to listen to me . . . this is very important." He gazed down at his little boy, wondering how to verbalize his fears without causing upset. "There are people in this world that would do you harm if they were able."

"Why?" Kenji whispered, his eyes going wide. "Was it cause I was naughty?"

"No, of course not," Kenshin's mouth twisted into a painfully tight smile. _(But your father was . . . )_ "It's just that . . . well . . . "

"It's just that there are some bad people in this world." Kaoru took over, unable to bear the remorse laden look in her husband's eyes. "The man whom Mara chased might have been one of them." She took a deep breath, and tried to force her queasy stomach into stillness.

"Really?" Kenji gulped.

"Really" A deep voice caused everyone except Kenshin to jump. "That twisted son of a bitch is nobody to mess with Kid, so you'd better stay the hell away from anybody that even looks like him." With that happy thought in mind, Sanosuke stormed into the house, his face grim and hard in the early morning light.

"Sano, now there's no way of knowing whether or not it was Enishi." Kenshin chided, unwilling to expose his son and pregnant wife to unnecessary worry.

"How many men do you know with white hair and stinkin' blue eyes?" Sanosuke growled, too tired and hungry to even see straight. "Trust me pal, I've got it on very good authority that your bastard of a brother-in-law is back in town."

"That's enough." Kaoru said sharply, her complexion taking on a ghastly hue as she struggled to keep her breakfast down. "The next person who mentions HIS name under my roof is going to be barfed on. Do I make myself clear?"

Sanosuke edged away from the green faced woman, unwilling to call her bluff. _(Hell hath no fury like a pregnant Kaoru . . . )_ "Sure thing Missy" He winked at Kenshin and nodded toward the kitchen, hoping that his friend would take the hint and follow him. "I'm gonna go see if I can scrounge up me some breakfast."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Kenshin said, rising to his feet. Glancing over at his wife, he was dismayed to see that she was in danger of losing her battle with against morning sickness. "Kaoru, would you like me to fix you a nice cup of ginger tea?"

Kaoru shook her head, her lips pursing tightly as a wave of nausea crashed over her. "No. I think . . . "She swallowed hard, then staggered toward the door. "I'd better go take a little walk."

"I'll come with you." Kenshin offered, knowing full well that "a little walk" meant that his poor wife was about thirty seconds shy of being violently sick.

"NO!" Kaoru shook her head. "Just leave me alone . . . I'll be just . . . " Her complexion bled out, leaving her dangerously pale. "...just fine." And with that, she was out the door with Kenji running behind her.

Several Minutes Later

"Gods." Sanosuke made a sour face and set his rice down, unable to eat another bite. "Is she ever going to stop puking?"

"Of course." Kenshin winced as the unmistakable sounds of retching filtered through the thin kitchen walls. "Dr. Mogensen assured me that this sort of thing is perfectly normal during the first few months of pregnancy. In a few weeks, Kaoru should be feeling much better."

"That's a crock of shit." Yahiko's finger's tightened dangerously on his tea cup, threatening to shatter the delicate porcelain. "Kaoru's only going to get worse, just wait and see." Glaring at the two older men, he tried to focus on anything but the biting pain that was creeping up his throat like a fiery serpent.

"Nice attitude." Sano snorted.

"Go to hell." Yahiko retorted hotly. "You were off getting lost in Mongolia the last time she was like this." He turned to Kenshin. "Don't you remember how sick she was with Kenji? She was practically skin and bones by the time she delivered. Well, the second time around was worse . . . much worse. She couldn't keep a damn thing down for weeks . . . and then . . . "_(And then she contracted Typhoid and nearly died . . . _) "Gods Kenshin, what were you two thinking?"

"Hey!" Sanosuke cuffed the younger man on the head. "Watch your mouth!" He glared furiously at Yahiko, appalled that the boy's rudeness. "What Kenshin and Kaoru do behind closed doors in none of your damn business, you got that?"

"I'm just worried about Kaoru."Yahiko grimaced, trying to force down the bitter bile in the back of his throat.

"We all are, dammit!" Sanosuke swore, "But that doesn't give you the right to bitch people out for doing what comes naturally. Shit happens kid, and no matter how careful you are, sooner or later if you take a woman to bed she's going to end up with your baby in her belly." He poked Yahiko in the chest. "And if you can't handle that pal, then you have no business messing around with your little girlfriend, to say nothing of getting hitched."

"You don't understand." It was all that Yahiko could manage at the moment. He could feel the crumpled letter in his pocket, almost as though the thin parchment was burning a hole into the side of his leg. _(They're going to come for Kenshin . . . to take him away from us for a very long time . . . )_ He folded his arms defiantly, trying to keep the pain and guilt at bay. _(...and no matter how hard I try to watch over Kaoru and Kenji, no matter what Mara can do with her medicine . . . it won't be enough . . . )_

"Then tell me what's bothering you, please help me . . . help us understand." Kenshin said soothingly, the gentle tone of his voice masking the sharp worry in his heart. _(In all the time that I've known him, he's never been this upset . . . )_ Ever since the blizzard, he had gone out of his way to try and understand what was causing his young friend such distress. _(I had hoped that Yahiko would confide in me . . . that he would allow me to help bear the weight of whatever burden he is struggling under . . . )_ Sadly, the boy had rebuffed his attempts to help, keeping him at bay and deeply hurting his feelings. _(It's as though he is afraid that I will be angry with him . . . that I can't be relied upon to make things right . . . ) _

"Please, Yahiko . . . tell me what's wrong."

For the agonizing space of a heartbeat, Yahiko almost did. _(I want to tell him . . . to try and explain . . . )_ It hurt, keeping secrets from a man he idolized, the surrogate father he adored. (_I think, that even now, he'd find it in his heart to forgive Mara and me . . . that he'd understand that we've been just trying to protect his family . . . )_ Therein was the problem, the root of his unending worry. _(But if I tell him . . . then he'll know that he's needed elsewhere and leave us . . . )_ He had no illusions as to the extent of the ex-assassin's honor, nor could he say with certainty that the love that Kenshin bore for Kaoru and Kenji would keep him from heeding the summons of the government. _(It's never been enough in the past . . . why should it be different this time?)_

In the end, it was his own strict sense of duty that forced him to remain silent. _(When I was a boy, I promised Kenshin that I'd watch over Kaoru for him, that I would keep his family safe no matter what . . . )_ Swallowing down his deep regret, Yahiko shook his head. "I'm sorry Kenshin. I can't right now." _(Now as a man, I will keep that promise I made . . . )_ He turned and walked out of the kitchen, ignoring Kenshin's entreaties that he explain himself. (..._and hope that someday, he'll understand . . . )_

"I...I need to go and start cleaning the damn dojo."

Sanosuke rolled his eyes, utterly exasperated with the moody teenager. "Suit yourself."

Kenshin folded his arms tightly against his chest, trying to sort out the conflicting surge of Chi he'd felt as Yahiko hurried past him. _(He's hiding something from me . . . )_ That thought alone was distressing, but the pain and guilt that accompanied the concealment were so intense that Kenshin was tempted to run after the young man and force a confession. _(No . . . that would only make Yahiko think that I don't have faith in him . . . I will just have to be patient . . . )_

Turning to Sanosuke, he forced his mind into calmness, aware that any potential news about his brother-in-law demanded nothing less than his complete and undivided attention. "Sano, You mentioned that you had news regarding Enishi."

"Fraid so pal." Sanosuke tried to eat another mouthful of rice, then gave up when he heard another round of retching commence_. (Aww Hell . . . at this rate Kaoru won't be the only one barfing in the bushes . . . )_ "Word on the streets is that there's a new arms dealer in town . . . one that is dealing in some seriously nasty shit." He set down his rice bowl, and looked over at the slender man standing beside him.

Kenshin sighed softly, his eyes darkening with regret. _(It appears that Tomoe's journal wasn't enough to help him find a better path through life. I had thought . . . or at least hoped that he might have the chance to leave his past behind him . . . )_ Unwelcome memories began to slither up in his mind, fragments of remembered agony that left him feeling hollow and shaken.

"If Enishi has indeed returned to Tokyo, we must take appropriate precautions and prepare for the worst." He clenched his small hands into fists, recalling against his will the image of Kaoru's bloody body impaled against the dojo wall. "I hardly need to remind you Sano, what this man is capable of."

Sanosuke scowled darkly. _(Like I need any reminding . . .)_ There were still nights that he would bolt up out of sleep, his body chilled and covered with sweat, the god awful sound of Kenshin screaming Kaoru's name ringing in his ears. _(I watched that sick son of a bitch thrust Kenshin down into hell . . . simply for the sake of a dead woman's smile . . .) _His frown deepened, becoming lethally grim_. (...and now, after waiting for nearly ten years . . . he's coming back to finish things . . . )_ His gaze fell to Kenshin's slender hands . . . hands that hadn't held a sword for more than three years.

"If it came down to it, could you still beat him in a fight?" Sano forced himself to ask the question.

For several seconds, Kenshin was silent, his expression growing grim. "No. It took all that I had to defeat him nearly ten years ago. In my current state . . . " He shrugged slightly and gave Sanosuke a rueful smile. "...I doubt I'd survive the encounter."

"You kicked his ass the first time and that's what counts." Sano said firmly, his brown eyes suspiciously bright. "If that bastard wants to pick a fight, this time it will be with me."

Kenshin shook his head, protesting softly. "He's my responsibility."

_(Gods, Kenshin, give it a rest . . .)_ Sano whacked his pal on the head. "Not anymore. You've got a growing family to take care of, and they come first. Besides . . . "He smirked at Kenshin, determined to brighten the somber mood."...if that looney in-law of yours does manage to get in a few scratches, I happen to know a damn fine doctor who'd be more than happy to patch me up."

"I pray to the Gods that it will never come to that, Sano." Kenshin said seriously. "Dr. Mogensen has already suffered grievously due to violence. It would be an ill thing indeed, for her to be forced to endure more heartbreak than she already has."

Sanosuke bristled at the implications. "Hey! Who said anything about me losing?" He angrily shoved his hands into his pockets, unwilling to even consider Kenshin's warning. "When I catch that bastard, he won't know what hit him!"

_(Oh Sano, even after all these years . . . you still are dangerously impetuous . . . )_ Kenshin sighed, knowing that any further attempts at warning the cocky ex-gangster were useless. "There is always the chance, you know, that the new arms dealer isn't Enishi." It was a foolish hope, but one that he intended to cling to until he was presented with unshakable evidence to the contrary. _(I have to believe that Tomoe protected him, as she protected me . . . )_

Sanosuke shrugged, still rather offended that Kenshin might harbor doubts about his fighting abilities. "I suppose so." He said reluctantly, his mind already made up about the matter. "But if that's the case, then we're still left with the fact that there's some asshole out there with a shit load of illegal guns and who knows what else." For a moment, he briefly thought about his English friend who had also once dabbled in the same cowardly trade. _(I asked him straight out about this the other day and he threw a royal fit that I'd even consider that he might be back in the gun running business . . . )_

Kenshin's voice was dangerously placid. "Indeed we do." _(Whether this threat comes from Enishi or a new, undetermined source . . . I fully intend to be prepared to face it . . . ) _His serious expression vanished when he heard his darling wife stumbling slowly up the front steps.

"If you'll please excuse me, I think that Kaoru needs my help."

Sanosuke picked up his rice bowl for the second time, praying that the poor woman was done being sick for the day, and beyond thankful that Edward had seen the error of his ways and become a respectable businessman who specialized in exporting Japanese porcelain and silk back to his native Britain. _(It's a damn shame that Yukishiro didn't have the brains to learn the same lesson . . . ) _He began to wolf down his food, nodding his head in farewell as Kenshin hurried out the door. _(...I guess that he's one tiger that will never change his stripes . . . ) _

**Early in the afternoon at the Genzai Clinic**

Mara croaked like a bullfrog coming to a very bad end, her eyes going wide with pain as Dr. Genzai's arthritic, yet still powerful fingers forced stiff muscles in her knee and calf muscles to move back into a semblance of order. "I'm….doing…just…." she groaned as the strenuous massage caused another spasm. This one was bad enough to wrench a cry from her. "Ahh!" Grimacing despite her best efforts to remain stoic, she dug her nails into the cotton cover of the examining table and tried to hold still, knowing that the agonizing physical therapy was the only thing that could ensure her continued mobility.

"Wretchedly? Is that the word you were thinking of? muttered as he quickly moved to stop the muscle spasms. "You've done too much, too soon and this is the result." He could feel tough, knotted scar tissue beneath his experienced fingers, could sense that the barely knit together tissues of Mara's knee, thigh and lower leg were inflamed from chronic overwork. Thankfully, her lack of a fever and the brightness of her eyes calmed his concerns that another infection had set in. "What in the name of the Gods am I going to do with you?"

Mara didn't respond to the question, closing her eyes instead. She was panting shallowly, the exam yukata she was wearing was damp with cold sweat and she didn't trust that the next sound coming from her mouth would be a whimper rather than a retort. At what seemed a torturous eternity, Dr. Genzai's ministrations ceased. Mara forced herself to sit up and was preparing to slide off the table, when the old doctor put a hand on her shoulder, requesting that she be still.

"What am I ever going to do with you?" he repeated the question, as he gently brushed a sweaty lock of hair that was impeding her vision, his voice cracking with concern. She'd been away all night, trying and tragically failing to keep a farmer's wife and unborn child from dying of dysentery and had only returned an hour before, sore, limping and rather filthy. Unsure of what he meant, Mara uncertainly looked up at her mentor, her grey eyes locking on his black ones. "You are still too young, I suspect, to value the gift that is a well lived life."

"I value life!" Mara protested firmly, her black brows drawing angrily, thinking of how ferociously she'd tried to save the sick woman and nearly full term baby. The rebuke stung sharply, nearly as badly as the sting of having a patient pass away in her arms. "I've dedicated myself to preserving it, have given up everything I have…everything I am to try and help those who are suffering!"

"I can't and won't fault you for the superb care you extend to others, my dear, nor did I say that you didn't value life," Dr. Genzai patiently weathered her angry outburst, "It is living that you find beneath your notice and it is the care of yourself that is lacking." _(Oh, how I wish she could see herself through my old eyes…)_ He sighed heavily as she peered at the younger physician's face. Heavy cares and deep sorrow belonging to a much older woman were invisibly etched across her unlined face. Genzai could imagine where wrinkles would one day form amid her delicate features, lines caused by grief and anger rather than smiles. "Why is that, Mara Mogensen?"

To his sorrow and disappointment, Mara didn't even try and answer him. _(I wonder if she even knows…)_ His countenance softened a little, becoming a little less severe. "I wasn't the only one who nearly perished this winter. You lack of self-care was very nearly fatal, "he said quietly, remembering how infection, frostbite and exposure had nearly wrenched the young woman from his life and the lives of many who had come to adore her.

"Had Sanosuke waited even a half hour more to come looking for you, it would have been too late. You would have been lost to us. Can you imagine how Kaoru-chan and the life she carries within her would fare if you were gone? What of her son and husband? Would they revert back to the sad road you found them on?

Dr. Genzai pressed on, compelled for reasons he didn't fully understand to try and help the woman see reason while she was able, "And what of the man who found you, Mara? How would he have fared if you only left him with your ashes and a few half-stolen memories to remember you by? The death of your husband has well near destroyed you. Are you so keen for Sanosuke to experience a similar loss at your hands?"

Mara flinched as though she had been slapped across the face. "No, of course not! What do you take me for, some sort of sick, twisted sadist?" she exclaimed, her voice brittle and sharp. She recalled the silent, lonely agony of picking up the pieces of her life in the aftermath of Erik's murder and actually shuddered when she contemplated Sanosuke having to go through such a heartrending ordeal. "Why do you think I've tried so hard to protect him…"

"By keeping him at arm's length? Yes, I know what you've been trying to do these past months. I'm old, Mara, not an idiot." Dr. Genzai said dryly when Mara looked up at him in surprise.

"You see, I've seen this sort of noble stupidity before, most recently with a certain red headed fool of a wandering swordsman." Dr. Genzai said as he helped Mara slide off the examining table, and then led her out of the examining room, and down the hall towards the clinic waiting room.

"Himura-san, despite his best efforts not to, had fallen deeply in love with a certain kendo instructor who was years younger than he was and innocent of the world in a way he could only dream of being. He thought himself stained and unworthy of such a woman and so, despite the fact she loved him just as dearly as he loved her, he refused to acknowledge the truth between them, a denial that caused them both to suffer great hardships alone that could have been endured together. "

Dr. Genzai and Mara entered the clinic waiting room where the early afternoon light was streaming through the windows, illuminating the room with welcome springtime warmth. "It was only when he though her dead, that he was openly able to acknowledge how dear she'd been to him." Memories of Kenshin half-dead from guilt and starvation in the wake of Yukishiro's unspeakably cruel revenge played out in Dr. Genzai's mind.

"The Gods in their infinite mercy granted Himura-san and Karo-chan another opportunity to learn what it means to truly live. I would suggest than an equally generous reprieve has been extended to you and Sanosuke."He looked up at the tall, somber woman standing silently beside him. "You would be wise not to waste this opportunity."

Mara looked back at him. Even in the warm sun, she seemed far too pale and cold for his liking, as if winter still had the slender woman caught between its icy teeth. "I'm very well aware that there is…" she paused, considering her words carefully, "…there is potential, for something wonderful with Sanosuke." This of course, was a massive understatement.

"However, experience has also taught me, time after time, that there is equal risk when it comes to such things," Mara smiled ruefully as she considered how her best intentions and deep love for her husband hadn't been enough to sustain his warmth and regard. "I'm an excellent epidemiologist and have the potential for be an above average physician, proper perspective on living and dying notwithstanding. I am not, however, adept at dealing with relationships of a more….personal, intimate nature."

"Oh, now don't be silly," Dr. Genzai chided, beyond surprised that Mara was actually speaking to him about such matters. Private to the point of being an impenetrable curtain, the younger woman was notoriously reticent to discuss any aspect of her previous life, to say nothing about her marriage.

"I'm sure that you do just fine when it comes to such things." Despite her propensity to be as prickly as a pincushion, Mara was a ferociously loyal and protective of those she cared about. He'd seen her form supportive, loving bonds with the Himura's with himself and particularly with Sanosuke and naturally assumed that her marriage would have been equally warm and kind. Why else would she still be in such a state of mourning?

"Yes, I'm quite positive that your husband, bless his soul, must have loved and adored you just as deeply as you loved him." He became concerned when Mara's face fell, her pretty, pale features contorting with palpable grief and some other awful emotion that he couldn't even hazard a guess at. "How could he not?"

_(He used his last breaths to call me a bitch…I think that's a pretty good indicator of how good things were between us) _

Mara became very still, and then sighed deeply, her resigned expression aging her grey eyes. "While I'm still stupid enough to harbor the hope that he was in love with me when we married, I can't pretend that he held any lingering affection for me at the end." She closed her eyes, rather than acknowledge the look of shock and dismay on Dr. Genzai's old face, self-hate and the bitterest sort of recrimination washing over her like a polluted river. "I can't say I blame him. I wasn't…what he wanted out of a woman to say nothing of a wife." The admission was a damning one. "I couldn't please him, no matter how hard I tried to make him happy."

She'd been too flat chested, worked hours that were too long with patients that were dangerously sick, was too modest, too thin and gangly to draw any word of appreciation from the man she'd adored. To make matters worse, she soon found that there were dark undercurrents in his aggressive sexual appetites that she didn't understand and was uncomfortable participating in. _(Against my better judgment I tried to do what was pleasing to him…)_ The experience left her physically bruised, emotionally battered and a failure in the eyes of her husband, who wanted more wild sensuality and abandon than she knew how to give him.

Unsure what to do, or how to handle such personal rejection, Mara had retreated back into a world where she was anything but a failure, spending hours…and then days at a time at the hospital, among co-workers and patients who, unlike her husband, actually enjoyed and valued her company. It was only when he angrily confronted her at her place of work, with a new girlfriend and divorce documents in tow that she realized her instinctual efforts at self-preservation had come at a very steep price. _(I abandoned him, just as surely as he abandoned me…)_

"I didn't meet his expectations. _(In any way, shape or form…)_ He got bored and traded me in for a new and much improved version. End of story." Mara shrugged slightly, her chilly countenance covering her anguish with practiced ease.

"I'm so sorry," Well and truly shocked, Dr. Genzai didn't even attempt to be subtle. He'd always assumed that Mara's marriage had been a happy one, that the murder of her husband had been the tragic end to a beautiful love story between doting spouses. _(Instead I find that she was abandoned…betrayed…)_ "I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't," Mara snipped, "Listen, I'm not looking for anyone's pity, or a heart to heart about the nuances of psycho-sexual chemistry, or even a damn hanky to dry my eyes on. I'm just trying to help you understand why I've got to tread carefully where Sano is concerned."

_(Psycho-sexual what?) _"Have you told him this," Dr. Genzai asked quietly, "told Sanosuke about what happened with…with your husband?"

Mara gave Dr. Genzai a look that spoke volumes. "Sanosuke has a lot on his plate right now. Yahiko's getting married. That white haired guy…Yukishiro…is back in town and apparently back to the business of gun running. Kaoru and Kenshin have their hands full with an ill-timed and exceptionally dangerous pregnancy." She shook her head with worry. "The last thing he needs, or wants to deal with right now is me unloading all sorts of emotional bullshit on top of his head."

"He deserves to know…"

"Know what?" Mara shouted, her patience gone, "that the woman he's jonesing for is completely and utterly incapable of making him happy? _(That I won't be able to please him in or out of bed? That I'll break his heart without meaning to?)_ "she glared at the old man, too hurt to even try and self-censor. "If I take your advice and throw myself at him, he's going to find out soon enough that I'm a disappointment in all the things that matter and then where will we all be? Hmm? I'll tell you where, up a shit creek on fire with two broken paddles!"

"You're obviously upset," Dr. Genzai twirled his beard, his eyes going wide at Mara's profanity laden retort. "Not that I blame you, my dear."

"Really?" Mara growled, her eyes darting for a bedpan in which to bonk Genzai's brain damaged white head with. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Well the fact that you're yelling at your employer with your exam yutaka coming undone is one indicator." Dr. Genzai helpfully offered while Mara hastily turned away and frantically tried to make her yukata a little more presentable. "the other more obvious indication of your upset state is the fact that Sanosuke should be here in less than two hours with a dress that you ordered for a certain delightful soirée at the British Embassy and yet here you stand, with blood under your fingers, iodine stains on your elbow and if I am not mistaken," he sniffed a little then nodded, "the delightful fragrance of half-dried vomit in your hair."

"You know about that?" Her yukata now properly tied, Mara covertly gave her hair a sniff and shuddered. _(Yup…that's vomit all right) _

"I know about everything," Genzai tried to look sage like and mysterious and mostly succeeded.

"How?" Mara repeated as she glanced at the dried grime beneath her fingernails. _(Ewww…)_

"The dressmaking shop you frequent, the one you've been sneaking off to for a dress fitting when you think I'm not paying attention?" Dr. Genzai smiled. "The owner is a long time participant in my haiku circle. In a pinch, I suspect I could recite your dress measurements, not that they are all that impressive."

Mara stopped picking at her nails and gave the old man a look that was priceless.

"You're serious?"

"Of course, I'm serious." Dr. Genzai chided, "Why on earth do you think I insisted on examining your leg this afternoon rather than sending you straight to the bathhouse?" His expression became tender…almost fatherly. "You wouldn't last three songs, to say nothing of an entire evening with such tight muscles." He'd caught Mara practicing waltz patterns in the supply room the other day and could tell that the basic dance steps were still painful to execute.

Realization came quickly to Mara. Her frustration and anger vanished, replaced with an unfamiliar sense of being well cared for. "You're a sneaky little man, do you know that?"

"I do." Dr. Genzai smiled at the dumbstruck woman. "You're a secret-keeping, sharp-tongued harpy who really ought to give herself the benefit of the doubt once in a while. Do you know that?"

Mara sighed and, after checking to make sure she was well and truly wearing her yukata in a modest fashion, walked over to where Dr. Genzai was standing and gave him a quick, yet heartfelt hug. "I know that I'm going to miss you while you visit Ayame and Suzume in Kyoto."

The girls wanted to spend their spring holiday with their great-aunt and numerous cousins rather than returning to Tokyo. Mara had arranged for a rickshaw to come and pick him up so that he could ride to the train terminal in comfort and safety, but a sudden concern for his wellbeing made her second guess her decision not to personally see him off at the station. "You'll be all right while you're away, and make sure to take your heart medicine every six hours on the dot?"

"Yes, yes…I'll be fine, so quit fussing." He muttered, his eyes watering up a bit. _(I don't have the heart to tell her the medicine has stopped working)_ He could feel his body weakening and was making what he knew was his last visit to Kyoto, save for one, to make final arrangements on behalf of his granddaughters, the clinic property and the woman who worked in it. "Now go on…get cleaned up. I have some packing to finish up." He waited until she'd gone to bathe before he went to his office, took ink to paper and set about finishing up some unfinished business that he now knew could no longer wait.

**Six Blocks Away, During the Same Time **

**The Tokyo Imperial Hotel**

"And if you have no further questions regarding our shipping methods . . . "Edward paused dramatically, knowing that the right dash of theatrics would only sweeten his deal."...I would be pleased to present to you, the latest in western weapons technology." With the flourish of a circus ringmaster, Edward pulled aside the silken coverlet, revealing several revolvers and rifles, their grey gunmetal finishes gleaming dangerously in the lamplight.

Takeaki Enomoto leaned over the mahogany table and breathed deeply, inhaling the tangible power that emanated from the dangerously sleek weapons. "Magnificent!" He whispered his desire and longing evident. "Mr. Thornton, I must say that you have outdone yourself this time."

"I live to serve." Edward bowed graciously, then handed the sweaty palmed politician a gleaming revolver to inspect. "Look here, Sir, at the excellent workmanship, the delightful grain of the walnut grips, how the new pinched frame construction only enhances the inherent accuracy of the piece."

"Oh look." Enomoto pointed at the grip. "There is a picture of a horse on it!" He grinned like a schoolboy with a newfound favorite toy.

Edward tried not to roll his eyes at the man's idiocy. "Yes. These weapons are produced by the Colt Firearms Company and all bear a similar mark." He delicately removed the revolver from the witless politician, bound and determined to highlight the true selling points of such a refined weapon. "This is the finest revolver on the market Sir, with a mean absolute deviation of only 3.11."

"3.11?" Enomoto shook his head in wonder. "Truly, this is a marvel of the modern age." _(With such accuracy, my men will be far less likely to miss their targets . . .)_ As he considered one target in particular, his smile became oily with murderous expectation.

"Indeed it is Sir, and if I do say so myself, these weapons are an unparalleled bargains considering the stunning workmanship." Setting the revolver back down on the table, Edward picked up a Winchester Repeating Rifle, his pale blue eyes roving covetously over the pearl inlaid artistry.

"Would you believe that this is capable of firing a cartridge at 1300 feet per second?" Hefting the weapon to its proper position, the Englishman pretended to fire, showing the more inexperienced man how to correctly hold the rifle. "This is bored to accept the most popular cartridge on the market, the .44-40."

"Enomoto's eyes widened with delight. "Why, isn't that the caliber of the revolver as well?"

Edward nodded, aware that he had just clinched the sale. "Indeed it is sir. This way you only need purchase one standard size of cartridges for both weapons."

"Delightful, simply delightful!" Enomoto gushed, forgetting in his wild enthusiasm that he was supposed to be haggling over the Englishman's steep prices. "I want them! Every last one of them that you have in stock!"

Edward's heart soared. _(Dear Lord, this is better than I could have even hoped for!)_ Forcing down his excitement, he nodded calmly, his nimble mind already calculating the mind staggering sums of money that such a sale would generate. "Of course Sir, I will immediately send word to my men to begin processing the shipment."

Enomoto nodded. "I trust that your associates are trustworthy and can be counted upon to be discreet regarding such matters."

Edward feigned the proper amount of blustery outrage. "I'm rather offended that you could even harbor the slightest doubts as to the competency of my business." He was good at this, calming unsteady nerves while simultaneously bolstering his carefully crafted image. _(Even Sanosuke was incapable of seeing beneath my little ruse . . .)_ "If you are unsure as to the professional nature of my business, perhaps you should seek assistance in your search for high class weaponry from another source."

Enomoto blanched and shook his head, eager to correct the misunderstanding; unaware that his faux pas would result in his being charged an additional 7 percent on the total sale. "A thousand pardons my good man. I can assure you that no offense was intended." He bowed deeply for good measure, unwilling to risk losing so valuable a European contact.

Oozing over with false forgiveness, Edward smiled brightly and poured the shorter man a glass of sherry. "Then no offense was taken." _(You miserable little sot . . . question my abilities to conduct my business again and you will find yourself in very dangerous waters . . . )_ He knew that he had this man by the proverbial balls; that it would only take a few well-placed whispers for this rich and powerful politician to find himself kneeling beneath the executioner's blade. Unlike Enomoto, his reputation was sterling and status as a citizen of the British Empire gave him a strong measure of diplomatic protection should matters take a turn for the worse.

Nearly sighing with relief, Enomoto bowed once again, eager to finish the transaction and return to the warm and loving arms of one of his many mistresses. "Shall we set a date to finalize the transaction?"

Edward nodded. "The shipment will be ready for delivery in three weeks' time. If I may be so bold as to suggest that we meet in the usual spot to make the exchange."

"Must we meet in that part of the city?" Enomoto's nose crinkled with distaste. "A man in my station is not accustomed to setting foot in such a tawdry section of the pleasure district."

"That is the exact reason for choosing such a locale." Edward said patiently, wondering how such a cowardly fool had managed to claw, murder and bribe his way into such a position of power. "It lessens the chance of us having a rather unpleasant encounter with an officer of the law."

Enomoto swallowed hard and nodded. "Of course. It's just that in such delicate matters, one can't afford to be too cautious." While he was confident in his ability to bribe or threaten most of the police force into silence, there were always the dangerous exceptions, men who refused to be bribed with the promise of money or the lure of power and pleasure. _(One man in particular . . . )_ He wiped his clammy hands on his coat and forced himself to smile brightly, reminding himself over and over again that a certain wolf had been permanently assigned to prowl the cold forests of Hokkaido and therefore was not a real threat to him or his designs at gaining more power within the government.

"Of course Sir." Edward bowed deeply, his contemptuous sneer hidden from view. "I look forward to completing this sale, and sincerely hope that our business relationship will only prosper as time passes."

"As do I." Enomoto returned the gesture, already anticipating victory over his enemies. "I will see you then in three weeks and wish you well on the upcoming endeavor." He smiled to himself as he left the lavishly decorated suite, knowing that if anything should go amiss, that he would instantly throw the smug Englishman to the dogs rather than risk being indicted for illegal arms smuggling, confident that his personal fortune and government ties would keep him safe from any unpleasant repercussions.

Edward waited until the Japanese official was gone before he allowed his excitement to worm its way up through his stiff British facade. _(Three weeks!)_ Twenty one days until he was a rich man, a small space of time in which to prepare and plan for success. _(In three weeks, I shall gain the means to make all of my dreams come true!)_ Nearly shaking with delight, he poured himself another glass of sherry, determined to celebrate his triumph in grand fashion as he tried to decide how to properly celebrate such a rousing bit of news.

**PART II**

_"The worst pain in the world goes beyond the physical. Even further beyond any other emotional pain one can feel. It is the betrayal of a friend." Heather Brewer_

**A Little While Later**

**The Lion's Paw Haberdashery**

"Will there be anything else, Sir?"

Edward looked down at the eager little clerk and smiled indulgently, enjoying the sensation of being fawned over, well aware that he was more than worthy of her attention. "Perhaps." He fingered a dark blue cravat for a moment, and then turned his gaze back to the storekeeper's eldest daughter. "Tell me my dear, do you think that this shade suites me?"

"I do, Sir." The girl whispered, carefully hiding her consternation at being addressed by a foreigner in such a familiar manner. "It suits you admirably." Forcing her pride down, she allowed the Englishman to compliment her on her use of the English language as well as the state of her beauty, terribly aware that the tall businessman was one of the reasons that her family's new business was thriving. In the competitive Meiji Era marketplace, wealthy foreigners were a hotly sought after commodity. _(Father was most explicit in his instructions concerning this man . . .)_ Even though she was still six months shy of her seventeenth year_, _she had no illusions as to the real reason that her father and mother permitted her to work in the shop_. (...To them, I am nothing more than a display in the window . . . an obi bound enticement to bring in additional customers . . .) _

"Shall I wrap it for you Sir?" She forced herself to smile, bound and determined to make the sale, trying not to flinch when the older man reached over and caressed her cheek, seeing within his pale colored eyes that this most important of customers desired far more than a simple piece of silk.

"No, I would prefer to leave your fine establishment wearing it." Edward said demurely. "Would you be a darling and help me properly tie it?" He bent down a bit, so as to not make it too difficult for the young girl.

"Of course Sir, you only need to ask." Rising up on her tiptoes, she loosened the existing cravat and quickly replaced it, wondering desperately if she was supposed to try gazing into his foreign shaped eyes or still avoid eye contact . . . and to keep her hands from shaking with nervousness. "We would do anything to serve your needs, Sir."

"Is that so?" Glancing around to make sure that the girl's little brother wasn't eavesdropping, then leaned closer so that his face was inches away from the pretty young woman. "And what about you, my dear? Would you be willing to serve my every need?" He gently brushed his mouth across her parted lips, enjoying the taste. "You father assured me that you would be most agreeable regarding such matters." He waited for a reply, inwardly congratulating himself on being such a thoughtful gentleman, considering that both the girl's mother and father had practically offered her up to him.

The clerk nodded, having long been prepared by her hard eyed mother for such a moment. "I would Sir." She endured another soft kiss, knowing full well that by sacrificing her virtue, she would ensure that her family's business would survive.

Edward nodded pleasantly and kindly purchased an additional cravat, showing without words that the newly formed "arrangement" with the sixteen-year-old would be a profitable one." I look forward to continuing to be a most devoted patron of your charming little shop."

"As do I, Sir." Bidding the Englishman good day, the girl fought down her dismay and waved brightly, praying that she could keep her tears at bay until the customer was out of sight.

Puffed up with charm, Edward bid the young woman farewell, and then followed his parcel bound butler out the door and down the busy street.

"I do say, wasn't that the most delightfully pretty girl?" Edward asked breezily.

"I really couldn't say." Poking his graying head out from behind his teetering burden of boxes, the butler (who currently went by the name of O'Shea) glowered up at his cravat wearing employer. "I am not in the habit of taking notice of heathen women."

"Honestly O'Shea, when will you learn that all women are the same, at least where it matters?" Edward snorted contemptuously when the older man nearly dropped several twine wrapped parcels and turned three shades of red. "You might not have that sour attitude of yours if you took the time to sample just how delectable these oriental flowers can be."

O'Shea bristled, his indignation almost palatable. "That would be impossible Sir, considering that I am a god-fearing Christian." His pronouncement prompted another snort from his employer.

"Aren't we all?" Edward glared at the shorter man, counting of the seconds until he was wealthy enough to hire a proper British manservant who wasn't in the habit of moralizing. "Well, don't just stand there you pious jackass, get the packages in the carriage!"

"If you were a nice guy, you'd give the old man a hand."

"Whoever said I was a nice guy?" Edward smirked, knowing full well that only one man in Japan would address him in so flippant a manner.

"Point taken." Sagara Sanosuke sauntered around the corner. He was wearing a dark western style suit and carrying what appeared to be a dress box from one of the better establishments in the city. "Well Ed, I see that you're still as tight fisted as a dead hooker."

"And you, Sanosuke, are still unemployed and terribly uncouth." Edward retorted, rather than admit his friend looked downright presentable in his clothing.

"Guilty as charged." Sanosuke sassed as he sauntered over to where his friend was standing, set the dress box down and began helping O'Shea set Edward's shopping into the carriage. "So, who are you screwing out of their hard earned money today?" Sano laughed at Edward's attempt at acting innocent. "Forget it man, I know you way too well. You're wearing a shit eating grin that means only one thing: You just made a killing off of some poor sap."

"You have no idea." Edward fluffed his cravat and grinned, enjoying the banter more than he'd ever admit. "Why Sanosuke, I didn't know you cared."

"Don't flatter yourself pal, I could care less about what happens to you." Brown eyes dancing, he playfully jabbed Edward in the shoulder.

"Then why act concerned?" Edward quirked up a pale eyebrow as he gingerly rubbed his aching arm.

"Cause...I was hoping that you'd give me a ride in that fancy carriage of yours." Sanosuke motioned towards the large dress box he'd set down. "The battle ax has me running errands and I'm plumb worn out."

Edward sighed. "Honestly Sanosuke, I do wish you'd stop referring to Miss Mogensen in such a vulgar manner."

"Gods, Thornton, don't get your trousers in a twist." Sanosuke groused as he continued to help O'Shea toss Edward's packages into the open carriage. "You know damn well that Mara gets a kick out the nicknames I come up with." He grinned at the butler. "Isn't that right O'Shea?"

"I really couldn't say Sir." The Irishman patted Sano on the arm, thankful for both the help and the badly needed dose of humor. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Sagara."

'Thanks Seamus, it's good to see you too."

"She's a lady, you know." Edward snipped, his arms folded tightly across his chest. "One that deserves your utmost respect."

Sanosuke rubbed the back on his neck and sighed. _(Gods, man...give it a rest...) _"I know that she's a lady, Ed." He said seriously, his teasing tone vanishing like the sun behind a rain cloud. "And trust me, she has my respect."

"Are you quite sure?" Edward didn't sound convinced.

"Quite." Sanosuke rolled his eyes, his patience wearing thin. "Now, are you gonna give me a ride, or not?"

"I suppose so." Edward laughed and threw up his hands in defeat, knowing that Sanosuke was liable to end up sitting on top of the carriage if he said no. _(Honestly, the man has no sense of propriety)_ Though he'd be the last to admit it, it was Sano's lack of social pretense that Edward found so refreshing. "Do promise me that you'll try and behave."

"That depends on whether or not you decide to get all preachy on me." Sanosuke warned as he hopped up into the carriage. " Still chuckling, Edward crossed his arms and closed his eyes as the carriage began to move and for several minutes the two men sat silently in the carriage as Tokyo rolled past them.

"You're looking unusually dapper, if I do say so myself," Edward finally offered. "And unless I'm very much mistaken, you've actually bathed. May I ask what prompted such an extraordinary action on your part?"

"I'm running errands remember?" Sano said after a moment. "Mara needed some medicine delivered to a couple of outlying patients and I didn't want to risk her walking such a distance."

Edward cracked open one eye. "How is she faring?"

"She's doing all right, I guess. That damn leg of hers isn't healing as well or as fast as I'd like it to," Sano said quietly, all traces of humor vanishing as he thought about how unbelievably lucky Mara was to still have two legs to stand on and a life for him to continue worrying about. "She'd get better faster if she actually tried to take it easy, but you know how she is…"

"Unbelievably stubborn?" Edward offered, still rather put out that Mara had rejected his sensible demands that she stop practicing medicine all together, so as to avoid any further accidents. "She needs to be better managed, Sanosuke. She's not some…some backwater country doctor who has the build and breeding to deal with such ghastly working conditions!"

"Ed, she's a grown woman, not some snot nosed brat that needs tending to," Sanosuke said quietly, unhappy at the inference that Mara's quality of care was apparently coming up short. "Do you think I haven't tried to talk some sense into her?" _(Gods, the last time I brought it up we ended up fighting…)_

"She's a woman, Sanosuke." Edward looked expectantly across the carriage at the ex-gangster, as if this explained everything.

"No shit, Ed. I know she's a woman. What's your goddamn point?"

"My point, Sanosuke, is that she is not capable, not in the fashion that you or that I might be capable of caring for ourselves. She needs to be properly cared for and yes, if needed, corrected into a more suitable course of action."

Sanosuke laughed mirthlessly. "Gods, Ed, please don't tell me you actually believe that self-righteous load of bullshit. Sure, Mara wouldn't do well in a fight, and would struggle to keep a hand plow straight, but that doesn't mean she isn't strong or capable."

Looking out the window, Sanosuke continued, "You know how I met that woman? A Tokyo bound steamer I was on blew an engine and sent a boatload of people hurtling into the harbor."

He could recall how cold the seawater had been against his burned skin. _(_ _I could see the surface shimmering like a mirage above me, but was too hurt to keep swimming)_ Recalling how his badly his heat seared lungs had ached for air as he sank into what should have been a watery grave, Sanosuke shook his head in amazement. "I was dying…a single inhalation away from drowning and I'll be damned if that woman who you think is weak, jumped into the harbor and pulled me up by my hair and helped me get to a dock."

"She did that?" as someone who had never learned to swim, Edward found the idea still rather preposterous.

"Damn straight, she did." Sanosuke said seriously, his brown eyes softening a little as he remembered how he'd been unable to stop starting at the beautiful foreigner, whose pale pantaloon covered legs were without a doubt the sexiest gams he'd ever laid eyes on. "So don't you dare tell me she's less than capable that we are, unless you're angling to get your ass kicked into next week. Am I clear?"

"Perfectly." Edward scowled, not accustomed to receiving a dressing down, especially from the poorly educated son of vegetable farmers. "Dash it all, Sanosuke, I am concerned for her safety and wellbeing. For the sake of avoiding an argument, I will concede that she is perhaps unique among her sex and better able to navigate through a difficult world." Ignoring the Sano's eye rolling, he pushed his point. "But not even you can argue that she is living in conditions that are far less than what she is accustomed to."

"Her husband, the one who was murdered…didn't you tell me he was a barrister of some sort?" Edward asked. Sano nodded reluctantly, not wanting to bring up the memory of a dead man he couldn't even begin to hope to measure up to. "Do you have any idea what sort of money, what kind of power a man of his position commanded in the United States? Mara's husband would have provided her with carriages, gowns, servants, all the fine things that a woman of refinement and breeding deserves."

"She never complains," Sano argued, his face flushing with what he realized was embarrassment.

"She wouldn't, as she was brought up to be a lady." Edward responded crisply. "Have you ever wondered how difficult it must be for her to exist in such dreadfully impoverished conditions? For God's sake, she's living in a spare unheated room in a run-down dojo!"

"Hey – she loves it there. She told me so herself."

"Heaven knows I've tried to help improve her situation," Edward ignored his friend entirely and piously continued to press his advantage, his sharp gaze detecting the stirrings of doubt and discomfort in Sanosuke's increasingly troubled expression. "I've offered to put her up in a hotel, find her an acceptable rental property or at the very least provide her with the necessary references to gain a respectable boarding position with a family of means who can actually provide her with decent living conditions."

"If she would just see reason, I could improve her life and standing in ways that I doubt she can even imagine."

"That's awfully sporting of you," Sanosuke said quietly, which upon reflection should have been a warning to the man sitting across from him.

"It's my duty as a gentleman." Edward replied loftily. "To care and comfort those who are in need."

"You're no gentleman, Ed, not deep down inside" Sansouke leaned forward a little, resting his powerful hands on his knees. _(You're a predator masquerading as a man of means)_ I had you rightly pegged the moment I met you collecting trash beneath the bridges of the Seine." _(You were so hungry to be better that everyone - were hellbent on ending up richer than anyone thought you had a right to be…)_

A kernel of an unwelcome troubling idea was starting to bloom in the back of his mind and actions that he'd always assumed were benign threatened to take on a darker meaning. _(You were willing to lie, cheat, steal or screw anything that moved, as long as you found yourself on top when it was over...)_

"You'd do well to consider whose carriage you're sitting in, Sanosuke." Edward's expression became tight, his eyes becoming glacially cold at the unintended insult. "A man who can't afford to purchase his own clothing really isn't in any position to pass judgment on another." With a practiced eye, Edward looked at the younger man's expensive suit, suddenly recalling a rather odd conversation he'd had with Mara several months before. _(The good doctor asked me to provide her with the name and address of my favorite tailor…said that she had a friend who was in need of a new jacket)_

"She bought that suit for you, didn't she?" Edward asked silkily, basking in the realization before Sanosuke even managed a curt nod. "Have you ever wondered how much she spent on you – I wonder, old boy, if you have ever taken a moment out of your busy schedule to consider how long it would have taken for Mara to save up enough to afford such finely crafted clothing?" When Sanosuke said nothing, Edward helpfully gave him a rather conservative estimate as to how much the suit he was wearing would have set the doctor back.

"Yes, it was that expensive. I wonder if you've ever even seen, let alone handled that much money."

"Watch yourself Ed." Sano warned, his voice dropping an octave. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his instinctual responses, hoping that his friend would take the hint and leave him alone before all hell broke loose.

"You're right, Mara bought me this suit." He took a deep breath, trying to keep things civil. "It's the nicest thing I've ever owned." Almost reverently he ghosted his calloused fingers over the beautifully brushed wool, recalling how carefully she'd wrapped the gift, how nervous she'd been until she was sure that he liked it.

Edward shrugged as if such sentimental nonsense was beneath him. "Well, I'm sure that you managed to find a way to give her a gift of equal or better value. Protocol of course, demands nothing less."

Truthfully, he was jealous, an emotion that he was all too familiar with after living over half his life in abject poverty. While he had several suits that were of equal or better quality than the one Sanosuke was wearing, he'd never been graced with more than a smile and a friendly word from the grey eyed woman he desired, a fact that sat very poorly with him. "Perhaps this lovely dress is your response to such a kind and generous woman?"

"You know damn well it isn't." Sanosuke said with a tight smile. "I'm not a rich man and can't even guess, let alone afford what's inside this dress box. But don't you worry…I've followed your precious protocol and then some."

There was a raised garden he'd built in the back of the clinic ready to receive the first flowers and herbs of the season, a rebuilt roof that no kept the rain and snow at bay. Mara's room in the dojo had new shelves that were straight and strong. The bath no longer leaked and the water from the clinic well was no longer bitter. From lumber and nails discarded by others, he'd rebuilt half of the clinic, taking any odd job he could find to supplement the cost of repair, helping the woman he loved transform the worn down abode into something truly beautiful.

""I don't believe you." Edward sniffed.

"I don't care." Sanosuke said, honestly. "Hate to break it to you pal, but you're not the person I'm concerned about making happy." He shook his head, wondering what had prompted the normally pleasant Englishman to turn transform into mal-tempered asshole.

"Is she _happy_ then, Sanosuke? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" Edward asked snidely.

"You mean is she happy with me?" Without thinking about it, Sanosuke cracked the knuckles in his damaged hand. "Is that what this is about?" _(By damn it better not be…)_

"This has nothing to do with happiness, Sano. Happiness is a fleeting state, one that rises and falls with a man's fortune's," Edward explained carefully, all too aware that his friend had a hair trigger temper when it came to this woman, "I have no doubt that Miss Mogensen is genuinely fond of you and values your friendship and company," he paused, the natural desire not to get his teeth punched out of his mouth making him careful, "and that you are a good and amiable fellow and have been without a doubt a comforting acquaintance for a lonely woman."

_(I'm more than an acquaintance and you know it…)_Sano's frown deepened, as did his concerns about where this conversation was going.

"Why is it so difficult for you to understand that I am genuinely concerned about her long term happiness as well as your own?" He said in the tone of a wounded, well intentioned friend as he back against the carriage wall, his handsome face becoming pale and grim.

For several minutes, he said nothing as he carefully weighed the worth of a man's loyalty and friendship against his own personal goals and desires. _(There has to be a way to dissuade him without causing a rift in our friendship...) _Despite his predatory nature, he found that the idea of losing the one true friend he had ever known was surprisingly ...disconcerting. _(Perhaps I don't need to dissuade him at all...just distract him)_

"Sanosuke, I you may find this hard to fathom, but I am genuinely fond of you and would like nothing more than to see you become well establish and respected." He leaned over caught his friend by the wrist, praying that Sanosuke would really listen to what he was trying to say. "That is, after all, why I extended you a rather generous offer of employment a few weeks ago."

"C'mon Ed, you know I appreciate the offer." _(Hell…perhaps I misjudged him…) _Still surprised that his friend had been willing to get him a well-paying job as a storehouse guard in Hong Kong, he tried to swallow his anger and growing suspicions and give Edward the benefit of the doubt. "It was a mighty fine thing to do, and if you'd offered it to me a year ago, I would have taken you up on it."

"Now...now...don't be hasty. Think about what it truly is that you are refusing." Edward pleaded, hurt and disappointed that his efforts to get his friend gainfully employed and out of the country were being so causally dismissed. "You've told me time and time again that you have no interest in settling down, that you are happiest when unencumbered with the drudgery of day to day life. If you accept my offer, in a few years' time you'll have a sizeable fortune and the means to travel the world to your heart's content!"

"Yeah, that's probably true," Sano conceded, "being able to be my own man and go where I want sounds mighty appealing…but not if that means leaving Mara behind. She _is_ my world now, if that makes any sense."

"Unfortunately, it does," Edward pursed his lips together tightly, drawing his pale mouth into a disapproving line as he removed his hand from Sanosuke's wrist. "I take it then, that you intend to come to some sort of…" he grimaced, as if every saying the word left a nasty taste in his mouth,"…intimate understanding with this woman?"

"Yeah, I do." Not liking Edward's tone or its implications, Sanosuke's expression became defiant and dangerous. "You gotta problem with that?"

"Do I care that you're going to condemn that poor woman to a miserable existence, cutting her off from her own kind and creed, simply to satisfy the base desires of your body?" Edward said self-righteously, allowing jealousy and bitter disappointment to cloud his judgment. "Yes, I suppose that I do."

"You arrogant insert on of a bitch!," Sanosuke snarled, his gravelly voice brimming over with the promise of violence. Shocked and hurt to hear such hateful words coming from his friend, he dug his fingers into the smooth wool of his trousers, trying not to give into the urge to reach across the carriage and punch Edward right in the mouth. "Is this what you really think of me? That's I'd mess up Mara's life just so I can enjoy a good tumble?"

"Whether you intend to or not, that is what is going to happen if you fail to heed my advice. Bloody hell, I've done all that I can to dissuade you from such a reckless course of action. I've offered you a chance to become more than you'll ever be, to gain a measure of honor and respectability."

"Fuck you!" Sanosuke hissed. "I'm not a charity case, you bastard!"

"No, but your family, should you be so unlucky as to have offspring, will be." Edward leaned closer, his English blue eyes glittering with disdain. "Do you have any idea of the living hell that you would condemn your children to? They will be half breeds, scorned both in your culture and hers, unable to hope for anything more than the most menial existence. Do you want your sons to be filthy farmers or underpaid factory workers? Would you rather envision your daughters as chamber maids or whores…just like their mother.."

A hard blow to his abdomen sent Edward lurching forward, his mouth gaping painfully as the air in his body was forcefully expelled from the force of the hit. Unable to even shout for assistance, he was yanked by his cravat off the plush velvet seat and slammed facefirst into the carriage floor.

Sanosuke hissed, pressing his knee hard into the stunned man's back, "By the Gods, you'd better take that back!"

"I will not," Edward gasped, blood and spittle mixing in his mouth and he struggled to get up. "you're going to destroy her…simply because of who you are!" Twisting hard, until he was lying on his back, he was able to get a hand free and slammed it as hard has he could towards Sanosuke's throat, hoping that he could crush the younger man's windpipe.

Dodging at the last possible second, Sanosuke took the blow on his upper shoulder where less damage was likely, then reached down and grabbed Edward by the collar of his shirt. "What would you have me do, Ed? Give her up? Would you ask me to just step aside and watch some rich bastard sweep her off her feet?" Nearly shaking with fury, he yanked the Englishman up to eye level.

""Is that what this is about Ed? Are you saying this shit because you think she'd be better off with a man like you?" Growling low in his throat, he wrapped his fingers tightly around the older man's throat and began to squeeze. "Because if it is, I have every reason in the world to rip your back stabbing little head right off your shoulders!"

Gasping for breath, knowing he was seconds away from being strangled in the back of his own carriage, Edward frantically clawed at Sanosuke's hand that was holding him by the collar until his freshly manicured nails drew blood. The pressure on his airway grew and grew until breathing was impossibility and his vision began to waver. Impotent tears welled up in his wide, bulging eyes, splattering messily on his purplish blue cheeks as he looked up in horror at a man he'd terminally underestimated.

"I have every reason to send you straight to hell," Sanosuke released his death grip on Edward's neck before the man passed out, allowing the businessman to slump back down to the carriage floor. "But I won't. You're not worth the trouble and I won't have your sorry dead ass hanging over my future with Mara."

His features hardened along with his voice until he truly looked and sounded like a man who'd lived and thrived in the Japanese underworld. "But if you so much as come near me, or even fucking think about going near her, then all bets are off." Sanosuke said as he reached over and carefully retrieved Mara's dress box.

"You…you're going to pay for this insult," Edward raggedly wheezed, struggling to fill his aching lungs with air. Still lying face down, he barely had the strength to roll to his side and listen when Sanosuke roared for O'Shea to stop the carriage. "I'll see to it…I swear…"

"What are you going to do, not invite me to tea? Send me a tersely worded note?" Sanosuke dismissed the Englishman's threat with a derisive shrug as the carriage slowed and then came to a jerking halt. "Have at it then."

Box in hand, he opened the carriage door, quietly bid O'Shea good bye and then glanced back at where his gasping friend was lying in a heap on the floor. "Well, Ed, it was nice while it lasted." He nodded slightly, perhaps in farewell, and quickly hopped down, dress box in hand, and disappeared into the busy afternoon crowd, "I hope you get everything that's coming to you."

A moment or two after Sanosuke's rather abrupt departure, Edward heard O'Shea's voice drift down from the driver's seat. "Are you quite all right, Master Thornton?"

Rather than admit to being thrashed so badly by a man he deemed so inferior, Edward croaked a response in the affirmative, ordered his butler to reverse course back to his offices then slowly crawled back up unto the carriage seat, slamming shut the carriage door that Sanosuke had left open with enough violence to shatter one of the adjoining carriage windows. _(And I hope you rot in hell, you arrogant, Oriental bastard!) _

Shaking with anger and humiliation he tried to think of how to get back at his ungrateful friend and understand where he'd miscalculated in this most recent attempt at acquiring something, or in this case, someone that he wanted. Worst the knowledge that he'd been masterfully out maneuvered by the ex-fighter, who Edward was sure had deliberately blindsided him into believing that he had no designs on the foreign physician. Had it been another scenario, Edward would have congratulated Sanosuke on a brilliantly planned coup. In this case, it was an unbelievable betrayal that demanded the most brutal response that he could muster.

Sitting in the carriage as it quietly passed from the main business district towards the finer areas of the city, he smarted over the loss of a woman he'd never had in the first place, looking for and finding errors in this failed acquisition. _(I was too cautious)_ Rather than directly speak with Mara regarding his romantic intentions, he'd carefully made inroads with her the man he assumed was Mara's proper guardian, her aged employer, Dr. Genzai. _(I presented my credentials and after meeting with the man for several months finally asked him for permission to court the rather clueless object of my affections)_ The old man's response had always been cryptic. _(He told me that he'd consider my suit and that I should come back later, that I needed to wait until she was finished grieving, that I needed to let her be and that the woman would eventually come to her senses and seek out a worthy husband on her own)_

Edward scowled, wondering if the duplicitous old man had somehow been stringing him along and had been from the beginning, in league with Sanosuke. _(I should have known better than to trust an Oriental…they are, after all, notoriously loyal to their own kind…) _Snarling in frustration, convincing himself that he was the innocent, well-intentioned victim of a dastardly Asian conspiracy, Edward ripped his wrinkled cravat from his neck and threw it on the floor, his temper twisting into something ungovernable. _(This is all his fault...if he would have played out his part, none of this would have happened!)_

O'Shea!" Edward shouted furiously. "Take me to the warehouses! Take me there immediately!"

"As you wish Master Thornton." The butler's quiet voice neither soothed his nerves nor calmed his mounting temper. _(How dare he dismiss me so easily, how dare he throw off my generous attempts to better his life?) _The more he dwelt on it, the more enraged he became. _(I tried to make him happy, to spare him and Miss Mogensen from a lifetime of sorrow...and look how he repaid my Christian kindness...with threats and violence!)_

Sitting with his head in his hands, Edward seethed silently as his carriage hurtled towards the company warehouses, and the rough men who worked there. _(Fine...if violence is all that the Sanosuke understands, then violence shall be visited upon him...) _With that comforting thought in mind, Edward closed his eyes and planned his revenge.


	12. Are you sure? Brand New Content

**Hello!**

Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and for everyone who is reading (and in many cases re-reading) this story - I am very thankful to have such kind and thoughtful readers.

I added a long Kenshin and Kaoru section to this chapter and another section that focuses on a rite of passage that all parents of children get to go through. I also revised other parts. This revision is due to feedback from reviews and also in honor and in memory of my Dad, David, who passed away a couple of weeks ago (April 10th) He was such a good man, loved the Kenshin Manga and was a wonderful father and I thought that a shout out to another good father who always was doing his best was in order.

**R.I.P. Poppa.**

**I love you and always will. **

This is the last revised chapter; with lots of entirely new content so please read carefully, lest you miss important plot components. **It is 38 pages long! Good Grief! **

Going forward, everything else will be brand new. We have new characters coming up soon, certain mal-tempered characters reappearing, smooches, political wrangling, dancing and gunfire coming up in the next few updates. It going to be a very wild ride, so get ready. The ratings on these chapters (especially the next three) will be "M" due to sensuality, violence and content matter that is best suited for adults.

Please take time to review. If you have Private Messenger for , I will respond directly and answer any questions that you have. I take feedback and also incorporate it (if it makes sense) to the story. If not, you are also welcome to send me an email to .

Enjoy the chapter and my deepest thanks!

**CHAPTER 12 - AS TIME GOES BY**

**ARE YOU SURE?**

By: MightyMightyMunson

"Are you sure" Kenji shrank a little as Kenshin patiently, yet persistently repeated his question to his son. "Are you sure you don't want to explain to us what you've been up to this morning?"

The question of course was centered around a handful of flowers, a rather delightful, albeit slightly bedraggled and semi-wilted assortment of purple and gold iris, blossoming sweat peas and fragrant peony's that were in the first stages of unfolding their lacy pink and yellow petals that were lying in what appeared to be a sacrificial pile between the sulking seven year old, the rather sheepish looking father of said child and the ill-tempered owner of the pilfered greenery.

"You know he did it, Himura-san, any fool with eyes can see that your sneaky little brat has been fiddling around again in my flower beds!"

Kenshin nodded his head politely enough at the sharp tongued woman, but his placid smile was replaced with a steely expression that made the old neighborhood matriarch take an instinctive step away from the funny little man that she so enjoyed gossiping about.

"My eyes, Takahashi-dono, are still sharp," while his words were impeccably polite, his quiet tone conveyed a wordless warning, as did the supportive hand that he placed on his son's little shoulder. _(Mistreat my child at your own peril)_ Kenshin smiled slightly and gave Kenji's shoulder a little squeeze. "I would ask that you give my son the opportunity to explain what happened. He is an honest boy and would not shame his mother and me by hiding behind a lie."

This of course, was the worst things that his father could say. While Kenji would have happily endured his bottom being spanked by his mother, and suffered through weeks of laundry duty at his father's side, he could not bear the idea of shaming his parents in front of a mean old woman who smelled vaguely of camphor oil and very old incense sticks.

Lifting his head up, the boy tightened his jaw, took a deep breath and then confessed. "It was me, Takahashi-san. I was in your flower garden…and I picked these flowers." His defiant posture deflated a little, as he caught what he suspected was a disappointed glance from his daddy. "I am…" he bowed his head, his rebellious expression softening, "…I am so sorry that I came back into your garden."

"Kenji of course, will repay you for the cost of the flowers he picked, by sweeping your steps and weeding your garden for the rest of the spring," Kenshin offered reasonably, "it is the least he can do, for making such an unwise and unfortunate choice."

Kenji's head dropped lower and he could feel his cheeks flushing with shame. "I can do it for the summer too," he looked down at the flowers and though about what had propelled him into the forbidden garden in the first place, "if you'll let me keep what I picked."

Kenshin inwardly began banging his head on a laundry bucket, wondering for the fourth time in the space of the morning, where he'd failed in his parental duties.

"Keep the flowers?" Takahashi's nostrils flared spectacularly. "Whatever for, you wicked child!"

Kenji met her incredulous question with a steady answer, "They are for my mother, Takahashi-san. She is very sick and…" he swallowed suddenly, his blue-violet eyes welling up with worry, "…and I thought that they might make her feel better."

Both Kenshin and Takahashi looked at the boy with surprise.

"Your mother is sick?" The old woman asked once she'd found her tongue. "Whatever do you mean?' She knew of course, having helpfully spread the news herself, that the child's mother had been deathly ill about a year earlier and had lost a child while the boy's father hand been wandering about doing who knows what.

"My wife, is fine, Takahashi-dono," Kenshin said quickly, not wanting to engage in any sort of prolonged discussion with the gossipy woman. While Kaoru's pregnancy was truthfully not an illness, the old, secretive habits he had acquired during the Bakumatsu, were difficult to ignore.

"She's not fine!" Kenji whispered, glancing up at his very honest father with sincere confusion. "She keeps barfing all the time, especially when she's making us breakfast!" He hated seeing his mother sick and was terrified that the illness he still had nightmares about had returned to take his mother from him.

"I see," Takahashi said, her snippy old voice taking on a sugary tone. "Is she sick every morning, my dear?" She caught Himura's cheeks flushing, not with the grief and anger of a man in danger of becoming a widower, but the natural mortification of a soon to be father.

"Yup," Kenji nodded solemnly, sensing that he might be given a reprieve from the old woman's wrath if she could just understand how serious this is. "Every morning she runs outside and barfs and barfs and barfs, kinda like this," being a helpful, sweet child, he thoughtfully demonstrated the gut wrenching sounds his mother made. "When I hear her, it kinda makes me feel like throwing up."

_(This discussion makes me feel like throwing up) _Kenshin thought sourly, knowing full well that the entire neighborhood for three blocks around would know by sundown that his darling wife was with child. He forced his mouth into a bland, watery smile and nudged his child toward the safety of home. "Well, hasn't this been delightful," _(I'd prefer being a pin cushion for the Shinsengumi)_ "Kenji will be over tomorrow to sweep and work on your garden."

'Yes, yes. I suppose that is entirely agreeable," Takahashi was too busy deciding which neighbor woman would be the first to receive the news that the Himura Household would shortly be increasing its number to initially notice that her quarry was giving her the slip.

"Takahashi-san, may I please give Momma some of your flowers?" Kenji asked apprehensively, not wanting to be condemned to an eternity of garden duty without some token peony to take back from the field of battle. "They're so pretty. I really think they will make her feel better."

"Oh, what a sweet, thoughtful boy you are," Takahashi crooned as Kenji quickly collected as many blossoms as his little arms could carry, clicking her nearly toothless gums together with pleasure. _(This gives me the perfect reason to finally pay a visit)_ Her glee at interrogating Kaoru diminished slightly when Kenji apologized again and gave her a bow that was properly low and so entirely sincere and polite that she forgot she was supposed to be indignant and actually let a kind word or two escape her withered lips. "Child, your mother will be fine soon enough, so put your fears aside."

Not unlike a cobra watching a potential meal, she quickly shifted her attention to the boy's father who looked three seconds shy of picking up his child and booking it back behind the safety of the dojo's walls. "Himura-san, for shame! You really ought to talk to the poor boy and explain what this blessed business is about. As the mother of four grown children I ought to know what I'm speaking of and would be more than willing, what with being your neighbor and all, to help explain…"

"Ahh…while your offer, Takahashi-dono, is kind and generous," Kenshin interrupted as he performed a bow of his own and began skittering backwards towards his side of the fence; "my wife and I are more than capable of managing this discussion. I will wish you a lovely morning and let you be on your way."

**A Few Seconds Later**

Kenji stood in the yard of the dojo, watching as his father locked and relocked the door that faced the street. "Are you mad at me, Daddy?" Clutching his flowers he waited with baited breath, wondering what he'd possibly done to make his calm father act in such a concerned matter. "I'm sorry I picked the flowers. I won't do it again." He gnawed on his lower lip, a habit that he'd picked up from Mara, "I'm just so worried about Momma."

Kenshin, who at the moment had his ear pressed up against the door, listening to see if his neighborly nemesis was trying to eavesdrop, looked down at his son, hearing in his son's unsteady voice a multitude of deep fears. _(As much as I hate to admit it, the old bat is right…) _He crouched down so he was eye level with his boy. _(…we do owe him an explanation)_

A year and a half had done little to diminish the sense of grief and loss that Kenshin felt when he thought about the stillborn daughter he'd helped deliver and both he and Kaoru were approaching this pregnancy with an odd mixture of quiet hope and silent dread. _(We thought it would be best to wait before telling Kenji…just in case something happens)_ Closing his eyes against the mere idea of further tragedy, Kenshin reached out and brought Kenji into the sheltering space of his arms, hugging the boy tightly. "Son, your mother is going to fine. She's not sick. She's just…" he frowned, not quite sure how to continue, "…your mother is pregnant." Seeing the utter lack of comprehension, he tried again, "she's going to have a baby. Isn't that nice?"

"If she's not sick, then why is she barfing all the time?" Kenji looked up at his father, frowning a little, "and where's she going to get a baby?" in his mind's eye he was forming a picture of shopping at the market, but suspected that a baby was not something that should be purchased in the same manner as vegetables, tofu or fish.

"Ahh, that's a very good question," Kenshin said wracking his brain for an acceptable answer. He smiled brightly, latching on the one response that he knew he couldn't get wrong. "Let's go ask Mommy and she was she says, shall we?"

"Yes, lets!" Kenji gave his father a hug back, then adjusted the flowers in his arms and made a bouncy beeline towards the open dojo, confident that his mother would explain everything. "She's in here, practicing!"

Kenshin ran after his son, scooping the boy up into his arms as he moved, savoring the beautiful sound of his child laughing merrily in his arms. "Gotcha," he said teasingly, savoring every second. Bounding up the steps, with Kenji still in his arms, his rare laugh died in the back of his throat the instant he saw his wife, standing alone in the middle of the polished dojo floor, her bokken on the floor, discarded, her thin arms cradling the gentle curve of her stomach.

He stopped so suddenly that he nearly slipped, his eyes going wide with sudden, sharp worry when he detected on his wife's cheek the telltale sign of tears _(Kaoru!)_ For a horrible instant, he was rooted in place, unable to do more than look on helplessly at whatever it was that was making his wife weep.

"Daddy?" Kenji craned his head up to see why they'd stopped so suddenly. To his alarm, he saw that that his father's face had become very white and that his Daddy's eyes were wide, frightened and shiny as if he was about to cry. "Daddy? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kenshin replied automatically, the habits of a lifetime kicking in, forcing him to move and think rapidly. "Nothing at all." Slamming down his fears, he smiled at his son and ran with the terrible speed that only a former manslayer could hope to possess back to the house. "I need you to stay here for a minute…" Kenshin's eyes narrowed as he scanned the kitchen for something to occupy his child, "…and find something pretty to put the flowers in. I'll bring Mommy back to the kitchen and you can surprise her."

"O…Okay," Kenji said carefully, not entirely convinced that his father was thinking of flowers. "I'll stay right here. You go….check on Momma."

Kenshin paused and gave his son a respectful measured look, realizing that there was no place for subterfuge between them, no matter how well intentioned. "Thank you, Kenji for understanding. Remain here unless I call for you, do you understand?"

Kenji nodded wordlessly, watching with no little measure of worry as his father ran out of the house.

Kenshin wasn't sure how long he stayed standing at the boundary of the dojo. Seemingly stuck, he looked inside at his wife, his eyes darting from her swelling stomach up to her face, trying to comprehend what had gone wrong, lamenting that once again, he'd failed to prevent harm coming to those he loved.

Half lit by morning sunlight, Kaoru stood silently, her eyes closed tightly. Head bowed, she moved her hands over the soft curves of her gi covered middle. Every second of so, she'd freeze, becomingly shockingly still, then her hands would move again, in a strange rhythm that Kenshin didn't understand.

"Kaoru?" Kenshin had to swallow, his throat suddenly dry. "Love…are you…" he sucked in a breath the same instant his wife did, "…all right?" His heart sank, dashing against the hardwood floor when Kaoru's silent tears became sob like and she covered her mouth with one hand, as if to keep the noise from carrying.

He did move then, running across the dojo towards his sweetheart. "What's wrong?" his asked sharply, looking for but finding no sign of sickness or injury that could account for this behavior. "Karou, what is it? Perhaps you should lie down? Do you need me to find Dr. Mogensen?"

Kaoru didn't look up, rather her hand snaked out and grabbed Kenshin by the wrist. "What I need," she said, her teary face a study in concentration as he took her husband's hand and pressed on her upper abdomen for a second, then shifted it down slowly towards her navel. "is for you to be quiet…" the hand that was atop of his slowed and then froze and she applied gentle pressure. "Ahh, there we are."

For an instant, Kenshin in his worry, was rather affronted at being told to be quiet, especially considering that this was an emergency and his wife was in trouble and something was wrong with the baby…and…and…Kenshin gasped sharply, then like his wife, he became utterly still and silent as he detected for the first time in his life, the whisper soft sensation of a child…_his child_ moving softly within the safety of its mother's womb.

_(Merciful Gods…)_ "Is that…" his low voice cracked, he couldn't help himself, "…is that?" A hot, relived tear fell against his nose, then fell, splattering on his worn gi. He exhaled sharply as beneath his hard, calloused fingers he could sense a faint nudge.

Kaoru nodded and adjusted the position of her husband's hand a little, her eyes still tightly closed as she concentrated, "Yes, that's our baby, Kenshin." She laced her fingers through her husband's, enjoying the comforting sensation, until she perceived that his hand was becoming unsteady.

"Kenshin?" opening her eyes, she watched as a score of emotions moved across her husband's face, like low clouds moving over the city in summer. There was joy, relief, surprise and beneath it all, a deep sense of wonder. Not surprisingly, Kaoru found herself thinking back to the first time they'd made love, recalling that when she'd finally faced her doubts and fears and brought this dear man into her arms and allowed him to enter her body, he'd looked down at her in the same manner.

"I saw you crying," Kenshin whispered, his voice rough with unspoken fears and worries.

"With relief…and happiness," Kaoru's smile was low and soft, her words echoing slightly in the dojo. "Not all tears come from sorrow."

"Is this all right?" Kenshin asked uncertainly as he felt their child move again, "to do this?" With Kenji, Kaoru had terribly ill and so been embarrassed of the changes to her body and he'd been afraid to get near her, lest he cause his wife or child harm. _(I wasn't there for the second child…)_ The thought tore at his tender heart. Rather than worry his wife by openly weeping, he stepped close to where his Kaoru was standing so he could wrap his other arm, his sword arm around her. Resting his forehead against his wife's strong shoulder, he held her for endless moments, finding an unbelievable degree of relief and redemption in this simple act.

Kaoru's heart sang, her own eyes no longer remotely dry as she felt hot tears soak into collar of her gi. _(He needed this so much…) _She sighed and pulled Kenshin closer, trying to show him without words, that everything was right between them _(and so did I…)_ "The baby is strong, no?" she moved their hands this way and that, enjoying the game of hide and seek. "This is how it felt with Kenji."

Her face momentarily crumpled with grief as she thought about the second time her body had tried to bring forth life. _(It didn't feel like this…)_ She'd been so ill, and the daughter she'd always dreamed of, had failed to thrive and had, in the aftermath of Typhoid, perished inside her.

"We have Kenji and we have this little one to rejoice over" Kaoru sniffled, trying to get her emotions under control. "And I have you here, with me," she couldn't help but add. "I would say that we are very blessed indeed."

"Kenshin smiled against the back of his wife's now damp gi. "That we are, my Kaoru, that we are." He stood there for a minute or two more, taking the time to press a few needed kisses on the side of his wife's neck and cheek. "Speaking of our Kenji, he's waiting in the kitchen for you with a surprise."

Kaoru quirked an eyebrow up, then turned her head a little, hoping for and receiving a kiss where she wanted one most. "A surprise, you say?" she asked, her mouth grazing Kenshin's lower lip.

"Yes, one that I fear was dearly purchased," Kenshin kissed his wife again, and then reluctantly pulled back a bit so he could deliver the bad news. "Guess who got caught in Takahashi-dono's garden again?"

"More tiger traps?" Kaoru grimaced.

"Try an armful of pilfered flowers," Kenshin confessed, his nose crinkling in distaste as he relayed the conversation with their least favorite neighbor. "She knows, I'm afraid."

"Then so does the neighborhood," Karou swore, looking as if she was about ten seconds shy of beating their neighbor to death with a bokken. "How? I know better than to ask if you shared the happy news." Her expression became downright menacing as Kenshin filled her in on all the details.

"I'm going to kill her!" Kaoru growled, her motherly instincts going into overdrive. "Call my kid a brat? Oh! She's going to meet the working end of my bokken before this day is done!"

"Yes dear," Kenshin was amused that he actually half wished he could see such a thing, "but first, before you commit understandable manslaughter, we have the matter of enlightening our son as to the nature of our situation."

"Whatever do you mean?" Kaoru asked.

"He is frightened, worried about his mother and uncertain about how we went about providing him with another sibling." Kenshin sighed, wondering what the best way to go about teaching his son this important life lesson. "That of course, will not do."

**Fifteen Minutes Later – **

A hastily, yet lovingly arranged vase overflowing with pilfered peony's, iris and sweet peas sat on the table, setting a beautiful counter scene against a certain red haired husband's look of vague apprehension and foreboding.

_(This isn't going to end well….) _ Kenshin knelt with Kenji at their table, waiting for his wife to come back armed with whatever educational materials she was enthusiastically collecting. To his surprise, Kaoru had responded to the challenge of explaining the finer points of human reproduction to their son with a degree of wild eyed zeal.

_(Apparently she and Dr. Mogensen have been chatting again)_ While he was genuinely fond of the foreign doctor, some of her ideas were rather outlandish and her willingness to frankly discuss the most private matters of nature to any poor soul within earshot was at times embarrassing. _(Poor Yahiko…he didn't speak for a day and a half after the lecture she gave him…)_

Wanting to help contribute to the success of her two young friend's future marriage, Mara had taken Yahiko and Tsubame to lunch and had then spent half an afternoon with them at the clinic answering questions and offering up diagrams of parts most unmentionable to the two mortified teenagers. _(Tsubame apparently giggled through the entire discussion) _Yahiko had returned from the clinic with wide eyes, an abiding fear of syphilis and a warning from the stern doctor that if he wasn't kind and gentle with is bride to be, he'd be poisoned on the spot.

"All right, I'm ready to go!" Kaoru announced as she marched into the kitchen, her hands full of paper and conte crayons. Smiling brightly, she launched into an animated discussion with Kenji about the "Miracle of Birth" and before Kenshin could intercede, started drawing.

**45 Minutes (and ten sheets of paper) Later**

**(Author's Note: This takes place BEFORE Sanosuke and Edward have their argument) :**

Sanosuke yawned as he stumbled into the kitchen. Having been up all night getting intel on Yukishiro, he'd snagged a couple of hours of shut eye before forcing himself to crawl out of bed. He'd promised Mara the night before that he'd help her run some errands, so she'd have time to get ready for their evening together, and hopefully save her poor leg from more wear and tear. _(How in the hell does she go with so little sleep)_ He thought groggily, scratching the back of his head as he shuffled down the hall.

He nearly wandered right past the Himura family, but the exceptionally bright, complex drawing that Kaoru was feverishly working on caught his attention.

Leaning over the table without being invited, Sanosuke glanced at the drawing, then at Kenji who had grabbed a crayon and was drawing on a spare sheet of paper, then at Kaoru whose features were scrunched up in serious concentration as she appeared to be plotting some sort of navigational lines around an onion shaped object with wings. Kenshin, bless his spindly little butt, had his head in his hands and was rocking slightly back and forth.

"And there you have it!" Kaoru announced, though nobody was really listening anymore. She looked down in triumph at her educational masterpiece, a drawing that encompassed all the key elements that Mara had taught her about the conception and birth of a human being. _(And Kenshin thought that this was a bad idea…Ha!)_ "Well, what do you have to say?"

Sanosuke squinted at the drawing, cocking his head from side to side. "Oh, I get it." He pursed his lips and helpfully tilted the drawing on its side. "Not a bad map, Missy" he said generously, "though Chicago is a little to the left and London is way up there, to the right." He thought for a moment, then grabbed a crayon and started identifying critical land masses on what was actually Kaoru's artistic interpretation of a fallopian tube.

"What are you doing, you knuckle head!" Kaoru shouted, whapping Sanosuke over the head. "This isn't a map. It's a diagram!"

Sanosuke glanced down at the drawing, the bright colors nearly causing his eyes to water, "A diagram of what?"

"A woman's reproductive organs," Kaoru said with an exasperated huff. "Kenshin" she pointed to her husband, who looked as though he wanted to crawl under the table, "and I are explaining to Kenji about how a baby is made and born."

"Why in the hell would you do that?" he asked in a shocked tone, as the last vestiges of sleep fled.

"Because my son has questions and is worried about his mother." Kaoru growled. She reiterated what Mara had told her, "This is a perfectly natural and normal discussion to have."

Sanosuke whistled long and low and took a very careful second look at the diagram, looking for and finding no sign whatsoever of any familiar female anatomy. "You sure you know what you're talkin' about? These look more like blueprints to a frigate that the insides of some knocked up broad."

This statement of course, results in more head whapping, much to Kenji's delight and Kenshin's consternation. Sanosuke of course, thought that the whole endeavor was hysterical.

"You missed your calling in life, Kaoru," he teased, tossing Kenji a bright purple crayon. "this shit belongs in an art salon in Paris, not in your poor kid's head."

"Like you could do any better," Kaoru hotly retorted, still convinced that her diagram had serious scientific merit.

"This is not an easy discussion to have with one's child," Kenshin raised his head and positively glared at his friend. Words that he'd never heard in his life were bouncing about in his overloaded brain and he felt absolutely frazzled with worry that his wife's overarching expose into the wonders of the human body would result in his son being warped for the rest of his life.

Sano laughed and sat down beside his buddy, "Come on, what is there to explain? You explain the ins and the outs and you're done." He patted Kenshin on the back, "no big deal."

Karou's left eyebrow twitched. Kenshin, being wise to the ways of the woman he loved, began inching back away from the table. Sanosuke, who was still a little sleepy, and loved to life dangerously did not.

"All right then," Karou groused as she grabbed a handful of paper and another handful of crayons and shoved them none too gently at Sanosuke. "If you're so smart and know so much, YOU explain things!"

"Perhaps, we should reconsider that idea," Kenshin gently suggested as he quickly started taking the paper and crayons back from Sanosuke, lest new and even more disturbing pictures were drawn.

"He's not getting out of it that easy!" Kaoru's dainty little fist smacked the table, causing the vase, the papers, the crayons and the two men sitting by it to tremble. "By all means, Sanosuke, please enlighten us on the proper manner in which to have this discussion."

"What?" Sanosuke stopped laughing. "Are you serious?"

While perhaps not entirely suited for anatomical drafting, Kaoru was a smart woman and saw an opening and went for it. "Of course we are!" She smiled brightly, like a shark anticipates blood in the water and motioned for her son to go and sit by the ex-mercenary. "Kenji, Sanosuke is going to explain the rest of this to you. He's knows all about having babies and being pregnant will answer any questions you have."

"Really?" Kenji looked up at the tall man, suddenly interested in the conversation again.

"Now wait just a damn minute," Sanosuke protested, "I didn't say I knew _all _about kids and shit…"

Kenshin's tone was chilling. "He will also explain this topic in a respectful and proper fashion or he and I will have an unpleasant discussion outside."

Sanosuke swallowed hard and looked rather apprehensively at the wide eyes seven year old. "So…" he swallowed again, desperately trying to back up his mouth in a manner that would not guarantee a serious (and quite possibly well deserved) ass kicking. "You got any questions, Buddy?"

Kenji thought for a moment, his sharp little mind going doing a rather remarkable job of pasting together the general mechanics of getting a little brother or sister. "How does the baby get in the mother's…" he looked over to his mother, "what was that word again?"

"U-ter-us," Kaoru said primly. "The correct word is _Uterus_."

_(Hells bells, I don't even know what a uterus is…)_ Sanosuke blanched and glanced over at Kaoru's drawing, hoping for a hint and finding absolutely nothing other than the mysterious winged onion. "Well ya' see," he paused, praying to every God he'd wandered past that Mara would come waltzing through the kitchen door and save him from the sticky situation he'd placed himself in.

"When a man and a woman," he paused uncomfortably, not wanting to offend the delicate sensibilities of a child, to say nothing of pissing off said child's parents, "when they love each other _(that's a good start…)_ and decide to have a family,…" he stopped again, already floundering.

"Go ahead," Kauro kindly encouraged. "We're ready for your insight, Sensei."

"Yes, we wouldn't miss this for the world," Kenshin added sourly, wondering how much trouble he'd get in if he just grabbed his kid and made a run for it.

"Well, they…give each other… a special hug," Sanosuke explained, ignoring the rather loud snorts of amusement coming from the adults at the table.

"A hug," Kenji frowned, not at all impressed. "That's all it takes?"

"Well, not exactly," Sanosuke hedged, his face turning beet red as he made vague smashing and mashing motions with his hands. "It's kind of technical."

"Unlike this explanation," Kenshin muttered, unable to help himself.

"Shut up," Sano snipped, "I'm doing the best I can!"

"So, Mommy and Daddy hugged and now I'm going to get a new baby brother."

"Yeah, something like that," Sanosuke said, relieved that the conversation was finally headed in the right direction. "You might get a sister, though, so don't get your hopes up."

"Hey!" Karou looked at him dangerously. "Sisters are just as good as brothers!"

"So," Kenji gave Sanosuke a long, serious look. "That's all you have to do?"

"Give or take a few details," Sanosuke answered honestly, "the point is, Kid, that your mom's going to be fine and in a few months, you'll have somebody who can help you dig tiger traps." Feeling downright paternal, he reached over and playfully ruffled up the boy's reddish brown hair. "So, you got any other questions?"

"No, not really," Kenji shrugged with a smile, blowing his stray bangs out of his line of vision.

_(See, I told you too it was no big deal…)_ Sanosuke gave Kaoru and Kenshin a cocky grin and sauntered out towards the front entrance, pleased with his apparent ability explain the mysteries of the universe in less than two minutes flat.

"Hey Sano," Kenji realized that there was a question, in fact, that still needed asking.

"Yeah?"

"When do you get yours?"

"Get my what?" Sanosuke asked, completely at a loss as to what the boy was asking.

"Oh, Sano, you're so silly," Kenji sighed patiently, "You and Mara. You hug all the time."

_(Bless you Kenji…)_ Kenshin had seen particular ambush coming from a mile away, and looked with deceptively casual interest over at Sanosuke, curious how the red faced former gangster would respond.

"We do not!" Sanosuke corrected, suddenly sounding rather affronted about the whole affair. "Well, not _that_ way."

"You do so!" Kenji argued with the insistence that only a precocious child possesses, "I saw you and her hugging on the roof the other night."

"What!" Kaoru hollered, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "You told me you were going up to look up at the stars!"

"Oh, is that what they're calling it nowadays?" Kenshin chirped, unable to help himself.

"Hold your horses, Missy! That's exactly what we were doing!" Sanosuke held up his hands in protest. Stargazing was something that his sweetheart was fond of, and so three nights prior, he'd hauled her up to the roof and held her hand while she looked up longingly at the heavens and pointed out planets, constellations and described a world above their heads that was far more complex, and infinitely more beautiful than Sanosuke could have ever imagined.

Recalling that he'd done a bit more than just handholding, Sanosuke's face turned a deeper shade of crimson than the red headbands that he once wore. As the night had grown chilly, he'd taken Mara in his arms, and on a roof that was in need of repair, beneath the dark starry sky, had dared to press his lips against her cheek once and her forehead twice.

"Are you sure?" By this time Kaoru was up and her hands were on his hips.

A sly, secretive smile lit up his face and rather than respond to this particular line of questioning he gave Kaoru a wink, Kenshin a nod and Kenji a wave and was heading back out the door. _(And I'll be damned if she didn't kiss me back)_ Her lips had been soft and cool against his cheek and he could still recall the scent of her curly hair and how he'd been able to almost hear her heart pounding in her chest when she shyly whispered his name, and told him that he made her so happy.

"Sagara Sanosuke are you even listening to me?" Kaoru demanded as she lobbed a green crayon at the man's head.

"Nope," Sanosuke said with a smile as the crayon bounced off the back of his rather oblivious skull, "I'm going to be out late with Mara, so don't bother waiting up for either of us."

Kenshin watched with bemusement as his darling wife took off after Sanosuke and chased him out of the house, grabbing one of her meanest brooms. He chuckled when he heard Sano holler a few seconds later, and knew that a rather interesting discussion on the merits and perils of rooftop hugging was underway in the courtyard.

"He never answered my question," Kenji pouted.

"Sanosuke and Mara are still coming to an understanding. We'll have to be patient and wait and see what they decide to do," Kenshin said as he motioned for Kenji to come and sit beside him. _(I might was well take this opportunity while I can…)_ "Do you understand why your mother has been sick?"

"Maybe a little?" the boy admitted, "Momma's drawing was a little confusing…and I think that Sanosuke doesn't know as much about babies as he thinks he does." Kenji peered up at his father. "Explain it to me one more time?"

Kenshin nodded and softly kissed the top of the boy's forehead as the filtered sounds of Sanosuke and Kaoru arguing filtered through the kitchen and did as his son asked.

**Watanabe's Noodle House**

**(Author's note: This takes place directly AFTER Sanosuke and Edward have their argument)**

"Are you sure?" O'Shea looked up in surprise, a cold soba noodle hanging loosely from his lips. He glanced around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping, then continued to talk, his heavy Irish accent sounding out of place and unnaturally subdued. "It's seems to me like you'd be far better off arresting that pretentious bastard right now, considering what you've got on him."

"Moron." The insult drifted through the smoke laden air of the run down, empty restaurant. "I have nothing that can tie Enomoto to Thornton save for several visits to the hotel and an unsubstantiated verbal agreement."

"But Thornton…."

"Is nothing more than a petty criminal with allusions of grandeur." The man sitting across from him sneered, his sharp canines peeking out beneath his narrow lips. He was dressed as a dockworker, his long face and hands smudged with sweat and grime.

"What's going to happen to the blokes when you catch up to them?"

"That's none of your concern." An acrid plume of cigarette smoke hit Seamus square in the face. "All you need to worry about is keeping track of that Englishman's activities and collecting any physical evidence that proves that Enomoto is up to no good."

"Bloody hell, you don't know what yer' asking of me!" O'Shea poked at his soba with a bamboo chopstick. "That arse of an Englishman is an insufferable tyrant."

"Would you prefer to be back in prison, awaiting deportation?" Amber eyes glittered with the promise of what would happen if he failed.

"Hold up!" O'Shea's protested. "I made a deal!"

"Not with me." The disdain in the officer's voice was palpable. "I'm not in the habit of making deals with criminals." _(Not unless they make it worth my while…) _And while he would never admit it, the short, balding explosives expert from Ireland was doing just that.

"Aye…but yer' government does." Seamus shot back, refusing to show his fear. "They needed a white bloke that could be trusted to pose as a butler and get the dirt on Thornton. Lucky for me, I happened to fit the bill."

"Whoever said you were trustworthy?"

"I'm still a free man, aren't I?" Seamus managed a nervous smile. _(If Fujita thought I was two faced, he would have already killed me…) _He swallowed hard when the other man gave him a contemptuous snort and returned to his meal, knowing full well that he was in dangerous company. _(Policeman my arse…this squint eyed bastard is a hungry old wolf on the hunt…)_

"For the time being, until you do something moronic and Thornton fires you."

"I'm doing the best I can." O'Shea muttered. "Being a butler isn't pleasant."

The policeman gave O'Shea a creepy smirk. "Neither is being hanged." _(Which is exactly what will happen to you if you end back up in Britain…)_ The officer knew that Irish radicals were not tolerated in the British Empire, especially those who had an alarming talent for blowing things up.

"You've made your point."

"I usually do. Now unless you have anything else that you need to report, I suggest that you get back to the hotel. I don't want that stupid Englishman asking any questions."

"He won't be asking me any questions….not for a while at least." O'Shea said bitterly, still upset that he'd been unable to persuade the young girl from the hat shop from accepting his employer's solicitation of her person. _(The poor lamb doesn't deserve to be used in such a wicked manner…)_ "Tis a shame that Sanosuke didn't beat a little more decency into Master Thornton when he had the chance. The Lord knows that he had reason enough to give that smug English bastard a right proper kick in the arse."

_(I'm not the least bit interested in the romantic squabbles of that rooster headed idiot…) _Crushing his cigarette butt in the bottom of his empty soba bowl, the police officer gave the O'Shea a menacing scowl that sent shivers up the older man's spine. "The only thing that matters is whether or not you can supply me with proof that Enomoto is engaging in weapons smuggling."

"Don't worry Fujita, you'll get your proof soon enough." O'Shea growled as he glared up at his contact, wishing that the policeman would care more about the fate of a hapless girl than the end results of an illegal transaction between two corrupt men. "In three weeks, Enomoto will have enough guns to start his own bloody revolution."

_(I will not allow that to happen…)_ The officer said nothing as the butler stormed away, betraying neither the anger that he felt towards the greedy Englishman who dared to soil Japan with dangerous weapons and destructive appetites, nor the disgust and contempt he held against the powerful man who had negated his vows and honor in the hopes of gaining a measure of power. _(Let him think that he will gain that power. His overconfidence will lead to his making a mistake…)_

For an instant, he allowed himself the luxury of leaning back against the wall and closing his narrow eyes, resting for the first time in nearly three days. _(And when he does…I'll be ready for him…) _

_**Meanwhile, over at the clinic….**_

"I say, are you quite sure about this? I would have thought that you'd prescribe the usual remedy for such wretched inconveniences." Hands shaking with barely suppressed need, Lady Agatha Crimpolt tried for the eighth time in ten minutes to cajole her doctor into giving her what she wanted.

Mara nodded curtly and tried not to fantasize about bonking her patient over the head with a bedpan. _(This isn't her fault…She's having a rough time and it's my job to help her through it…) _"Yes, I'm sure." Mara glanced at the middle aged woman sitting before her and sighed. "Trust me Agatha, the best thing you can do for yourself is stay far away from anything containing laudanum." Carefully, she added a tincture of dried willow bark to the mixture, grinding the herbs and infusions into a delicate powder. "This will alleviate the cramping, without causing any unwanted side effects."

"Don't be ridiculous my dear, there's nothing wrong with a restorative draught of paregoric," Tapping her parasol impatiently, Lady Crimpolt glared at the black haired doctor, fussed beyond belief that she was not being obeyed. "Why don't you be a darling dear and just prepare me a draught?" The highly esteemed Englishwoman tried another tactic, one that had served her well in the past. "Naturally, I would pay most handsomely for your services."

_(I'll bet you would…)_ Mara shook her head and continued to grind slowly and carefully, trying to ignore the rather insistent voice in the back of her head that kept reminding her that she was already running way behind schedule. _(…you'd do just about anything to get your fix…)_ "Agatha, as your doctor I'm responsible for your well-being." Taking care not to spill any of the brownish hued powder, Mara carefully poured the aspirin based painkiller into a rice paper envelope, sealed it, and handed it to her patient.

"Then give me what I want!" Agatha whined, her bloodshot eyes narrowing. "This dosen't work nearly as well. Have you no regards for my suffering?"

Mara's severe expression softened slightly. "Agatha, I'm doing this because I care about you and don't want you to suffer." Standing stiffly behind her desk, she looked down at the richly dressed and severely addicted opium addict. _(Dammit to hell and back, I don't have the resources to deal with her level of dependency...)_ "You're going through withdrawal right now. I know it's horrible, but you've got to trust me. The medicine I've given you will help ease the symptoms, and in time, the cravings will diminish."

"Withdrawal, cravings?" Lady Crimpolt waved a dismissive hand and tried to struggle to her feet. "What poppycock! There's no harm in that restorative!"

"That "restorative" is an Opium based drug. It is highly addictive and incredibly dangerous," Mara said flatly, refusing to back down. "I will never prescribe it to you. So save your money and your breath Agatha, because it isn't going to happen."

Lady Crimpolt was suffering from a rare loss of words. "How…how dare you?" She sputtered angrily, her pale cheeks becoming blotchy. "I am a respectable member of society…a benefactress of many charities…" Clutching her lacy parasol, she tried to think of a suitable retort. "Who do you think you are, to accuse me of such rank villainy?"

"I'm not accusing you of anything," Mara said wearily. "If anyone is to blame for this mess, it's the quacks who prescribe Laudanum at the drop of a hat!"

"I've had quite enough of this!" Her pride stinging, and heart pounding, Agatha stumbled out of Mara's office, too strung out to listen to the doctor's entreaties or to watch where she was going. Turning a corner, she sharply collided with a tall Japanese man carrying a dress box and fell right on her bustle covered behind, dropping her parasol in the process.

"Shit! Would ya try and watch where you're going?" Sanosuke growled as he tossed the dress box on the floor and then helped the woman to her rather unsteady feet. His unhappy expression became hard and disapproving as he took in the woman's clammy skin, her trembling hands and blood shot features, her symptoms were all too familiar to his street wise eyes. _(Damn fool is messing around with opium… or something like it…)_ "You all right lady?" He asked, his English a little rusty from disuse.

"Of course I am," Agatha snipped, trying not to blush under the Asian man's unwelcome scrutiny. "I was just leaving this sorry establishment."

"You sure you wanna be doing that?" Sanosuke asked skeptically as he picked up the little woman's parasol and handed it to her. _(Sweet Buddha, this broad looks like she's about to keel over. I suppose that's what she gets for messing around with that shit…) _While he had very little patience for drug users, he still knew a sick person when he saw one and did his best to help out. "No offense Ma'am, but you look like hell warmed over." He caught the offended Englishwoman by the elbow and gently dragged her to a bench, ignoring her imperious demands that he not touch her. "Just have yourself a seat. I'm gonna go find the Doc."

"Don't bother, she's already here." Mara muttered as she rounded the corner. She paused for a second to smile shyly at her friend and whisper an apology for being behind schedule and then held out the envelope of powdered pain killer, trying to not cause her upset patient any more embarrassment. "Agatha, you left this in my office. Now, I want you to promise me that you'll take this medicine and go right home and get to bed." Mara urged, her grey eyes glinting with worry.

Agatha shook her head violently, and nearly fell off the bench.

"Careful now!" Sanosuke reached out and once again tried to steady the sick woman.

"Get your hands off of me this instant!" Lips curling, Lady Crimpolt swatted away Sano's hand. "How dare you be so familiar with my person!" Forcing herself to her feet, she glared at Mara with as much disdain as she could muster. "I'd recommend that you speak with this man about being too familiar with his superiors!"

Sanosuke stiffened angrily, his proffered hand curling into a fist. _(Didn't I just finish listening to this bullshit?)_ "Listen up lady…" His retort died on his lips when he felt Mara's smaller hand cover his clenched one. He was still furious from his argument with Edward and was in no mood to deal with another lecture about his supposed inferiority.

Mara tugged on his hand slightly, trying to turn his attention away from her less than pleasant patient. "I'm almost done with this patient," she whispered quietly in Japanese as she reached a hand into the apron she was wearing and pulled out a sealed envelope. "While you're waiting, you can read this. Dr. Genzai left you a letter, told me I had to see to it that you received it and that I wasn't supposed to go peeking at its contents." She smiled slyly, and added with what she hoped was a saucy wink, "I think he wants to set up a secret rendezvous with you and he and a sake bottle."

When Sanosuke didn't respond, she glanced up and then frowned when she saw the stormy expression on his handsome face as he took the letter and without a glance angrily shoved it into the pocket of his trousers, His jaw was locked; eyes hard and his hands were clenched. Mara saw that one of his hands was recently been bleeding; as if the skin had been scratched or gouged. _(Did he get in a fight?)_

"Sanosuke?" Still unused to being overly familiar with a man, she hesitated for a moment, and then reached for his injured hand, threading her fingers between his in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. "Are you all right?"

Sanosuke gave her hand a little squeeze, but said nothing. Nor did his expression soften. She watched his jaw tighten up again and the line of his mouth become thin and hard. He was angry, upset. _(With me?)_ Becoming concerned, Mara stepped into the direct line of his sight, her nearly equal height forcing the issue. "Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or do I get to guess?"

"I'll tell you later." Sanosuke said shortly, glancing over at Mara's decidedly unpleasant patient. "You'd better deal with that mess of a woman first."

"What are you saying? Speak English!" Lady Agatha demanded imperiously. "Have you no manners, Doctor Mogensen?"

"My manners, Agatha, are not the only ones that are lacking," Mara said firmly, her voice and posture taking on a decidedly icy edge. She gave Sano's hand another squeeze, hoping that he'd understand that she was sorry for Agatha's behavior. "I believe you owe my friend an apology. Sanosuke was only trying to help you."

"Apologize? To an Oriental?" Lady Crimpolt actually laughed at the ridiculous suggestion. She had of course heard rumors about Dr. Mogensen and the tall man standing beside her but had, until this moment, always assumed that the tales were untrue. "Oh, my dear, you really are quite droll to make such a ridiculous request. She sneered at the wild haired man, her contempt as palpable as the opium induced shadows under her red rimmed eyes. "It is he, and not I who should be issuing the apology."

"Don't hold your breath bitch." Sanosuke growled, his deep voice echoing in the nearly deserted clinic.

"Sanosuke, that's enough!" Mara said sharply. _(Don't let her get to you…please…)_

"The hell it is!" Sano yelled right back, his already frayed temper finally snapping. "I'm not gonna take shit from some stuck up foreigner!"

"Dr. Mogensen, are you going to allow this uncouth Oriental to speak to me in such an abusive fashion?" Lady Crimpolt demanded, trying not to collapse as the world around her swayed to and fro. "I demand that you order him to apologize!"

"Kiss…my….Oriental…ass." Sanosuke smiled wickedly. "How's that for an apology?"

"Oh!" Lady Crimpolt turned scarlet. "Why you vulgar, disgusting beast!"

"Better a beast than a bitch!" Sano shot right back.

"That's enough!" Mara hollered at the top of her lungs, startling the two verbal combatants into surprised silence. "I will not tolerate this behavior in my clinic, do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly." Lady Crimpolt said coldy, swaying unsteadily in the narrow hallway. "I shall therefore take my leave of you, your pitiful excuse of a hospital and your foul mouthed companion."

"Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!" Sano jeered.

"Sanosuke! By God, I said that's enough!" Mara shouted, her lips white and thin with anger. "Who in the hell do you think you are, talking to a patient of mine that way?"

"I don't fucking believe this! You're siding with her?" Sanosuke was beyond furious. He glared down at Mara, daring the pale doctor to contradict him.

"I'm not siding with anyone!" Mara resisted the urge to bang her head against the wall. _(That's it. I've officially descended into the 7th level of hell)_ "Sano, why don't you go hang out in my office until I get things straightened out, all right?" Awkwardly she turned to her rather wobbly patient, trying to make things right. "Agatha, here, let me walk you to your carriage."

"You Madam, may henceforth refer to me as Lady Crimpolt and no, I would rather that you didn't." Lady Crimpolt said dismissively as she opened her parasol and began stumbling towards the clinic entrance, trying not to think about how nauseated she was becoming. "I do have my reputation to consider and fear that being seen with you could greatly harm my social standing."

Sanosuke cracked his knuckles menacingly. "Those are high and mighty words coming from an opium woman."

"Brute!" Lady Agatha made a rather alarming noise and slumped against the door, her pale blue eyes welling up with distressed tears. "Oh! Oh…I…think." She clutched at her stomach and sank down against the wall, her pale and teary face turning a shocking shade of puce. "I think that I'm going to be sick…"

"Good! Serves you right !"

"Dammit Sano, shut the hell up!" Mara yelled as she grabbed a basin and ran towards her green faced patient. "I can't believe you're acting like such a moron!" She shook her head, unable to understand why Sanosuke was in such a horrible mood.

"That makes two of us sweetheart!" Sano snarled, torn between being royally pissed and seriously hurt at Mara's harsh words. _(Dammit Mara, I'm just trying to defend you! The last thing I need to is have you treating me like everyone else does…) _

"Sano, I really think that you should just leave," Mara suggested as she struggled to keep the basin under Lady Crimpolt's mouth. "I've got a patient to attend to right now and…"

"Lemme guess…I'm only getting in the way." Sanosuke said tightly, hiding his bruised ego beneath a cocky smirk.

"Yes," Mara muttered, too caught up with the honorable Lady Agatha's adventures with the barf basin to think about what she was saying. "As soon as I get things under control here, I'll catch up with you."

"Don't bother sweetheart." Shrugging like he could care less, Sano turned on his heel and walked out the door. "To tell you the truth, after the shitty day I've had, I'm not much in the mood for anyone's company."

Mara jerked her head up, her eyes going wide with dismay. "What?" She bit her lower lip, torn between her queasy patient and her obviously upset friend. "Sanosuke, wait!" She called out, hoping that he'd turn around and talk with her. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Nothing I can't handle on my own! Now why don't you be a good little doctor and leave me the hell alone."

Mara's heart sank when Sanosuke didn't even bother to turn around and kept walking towards the front clinic door. "But I thought we had made plans for this evening!"

"Make em' with someone else !"

"But…I don't want to be with anyone else!" Mara cried out before she could catch herself. Embarrassed and upset, she stared helplessly up at back her friend's head, hoping that he'd understand what she was trying to say.

"Tough shit sweetheart, cause I sure as hell don't want to be around you." Sanosuke hollered as he disappeared out the door, taking the time to kick a ceramic planter as he stormed down the clinic pathway, his volcanic temper finally igniting in a maelstrom of jealous thoughts and angry feelings. "I've got better things to do than waste my time on stuck up foreigners who treat me like shit!"

Mara became very still, her face becoming as white as the finely crafted linen on Lady Crimpolt's parasol. Her grip on the blue enamel basin tightened until her fingers were aching. _(What did I do?) _Heartsick, confused and more than a little angry, Mara numbly slumped down besides the now very nauseated and green faced Agatha. "Can this day get any worse?"

"Doctor…I need…"Lady Crimpolt covered her mouth and sagged against the taller woman."Oh Lord…I…am going to be ill…" And a second later she was, promptly vomiting all over the tall doctor.

**An couple of hours later - Yoshiwara**

_(Why do they always keep these places so damn dark?) _Sanosuke idly wondered as he peered through the smoke filled room, his dark, angry ayes tracking the various patrons as they staggered past him, most too intoxicated to see straight, their eyes glazed over with some drug induced hallucination, their tongues blackened. _(Perhaps it's to keep people from really seeing what a shit hole this place really is…Gods! What was I thinking when I decided to crash here for the afternoon?) _He looked over at his drinking companions as they argued amongst themselves over whether or not to place another wager on the cock fights that were taking place outside, then sighed again and put down his bowl of sake, finding that it suddenly tasted flat. _(I wasn't thinking when I came here…)_

He'd stormed into the gambling hall almost by habit after leaving the clinic and arguing with Mara, seeking solace in the places he used to enjoy, retreating back to the haunts of his younger days in the hopes that a bottle of cheap of sake, a few suckers with money to lose and the chance to lay a few good punches on any moron dumb enough to pick a fight would boost his spirits. _(It always used to make me feel better…) _The problem was that he didn't feel better. He felt worse in fact…much worse.

_(Gods…I've had such a shitty day…)_ Sanosuke swore at the understatement and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes to the squalid surroundings around him, trying to ignore the reproachful voice in the back of his mind that demanded that he hightail it back to the clinic and straighten things out with his sweetheart. Sano scowled and stayed right where he was. _(I'm not the one who needs to apologize…)_ With this stubborn thought in mind, he reached for his sake bowl and grumpily downed it, grimacing slightly as the bitter liquor went down his throat.

"Hey handsome, why the long face?" Sano opened one eye and silently regarded the partially clothed woman standing before him, her thin face garishly painted in the mockery of a geisha's, her skin reeking of strong incense and cheap perfume that barely hid the bitter musk of her unwashed body. "What's the matter love?" she purred, her red mouth twisting into a hungry smile. "Are you looking for something a little sweeter?"

Sanosuke shook his head. "No thanks babe." He closed his eyes again, hoping that the whore would take the hint and take a hike.

She didn't. "Are you sure?" Scooting up beside him, the young woman poured Sano another bowl of sake, pressing herself up against him as she offered him the bowl. "I'm pretty sure I could put a smile on your face." Brazenly, she slipped one hand underneath his shirt, her nails skimming over his chest, moving slowly downwards, her intentions blatantly obvious.

"Why don't you let me make you feel better?" The prostitute smiled provocatively up at him and tilted her heavily made up face towards the back of the hall, where he knew there would be some filthy room with a stained futon or an empty alley waiting for them. There would be no whispered endearments, he knew that from experience, no lingering embraces in the aftermath of intercourse._(I'd enjoy a good tumble…she'd get paid...) _It was the sort of arrangement that he once would have agreed to without a second thought or a moments regret, she the sort of woman that he once would have sought out.

"So how bout it love?" The prostitute urged, her throaty growl rough from inhaling opium smoke and sake, strands of unwashed, oily hair falling limply in her face. She was young and hungry; her cold black eyes the shade of flint and twice as hard. Sanosuke shuddered when he felt her fingers skimming over the smooth skin along his neck, grazing over his pulse point, igniting his body like sparks to tinder, reminding him against his will, just how long it had been since he'd bedded a woman. "Want to have some fun?"

"Yeah, I suppose I do," Sanosuke honestly admitted as he gently pushed the prostitute away from him and got to his feet, "Just not with you." He made his way through the smoke filled tavern, his brown eyes fixed on the hazy outline of the rear entrance, trying to ignore the sounds and sights of other patrons who had chosen to indulge. Weaving through a licentious maze of forced sighs, low grunts and exposed skin, he wondered what Mara would think of such a place and what she'd think of him for being here.

_(She would be disgusted…disappointed)_ Sanosuke passed the threshold of the gambling hall. _(And would have every right to be…) _

Before he knew it, he was sauntering slowly along a familiar path, away from the long houses and opium dens and back towards the little clinic, the harsh smells and hedonistic sights of the pleasure district slowly giving way to the gentler scents of freshly planted rice paddies and slowly budding spring wild flowers, a pathway that subconsciously reflected the journey of his own life. _(I don't give a damn what Thornton says…or what that doped out old witch thinks…) _He looked down fondly at his suit, the beautiful grey suit that Mara had given him for his birthday and felt a long carried heavy weight lift from his heart and mind _(...I have the right to seek out a better life for me…) _He carefully traced the delicate embroidered kanji on his lapel, then took a deep breath, and put his hands in his pockets as he filled his lungs with clean air and quiet confidence _(…and the people I love)_

_There was something in his pocket. Puzzled, Sanosuke pulled it out. It was the letter Mara had given him at the clinic. He frowned, unsure why Dr. Genzai would bother writing him. __(Probably to tell me to get a job and get hitched…)__ The old doctor had started shoving newspapers with work opportunities at him every time he visited the clinic. Sanosuke snorted with irritation as he tore open and envelope and started reading._

_Sanosuke, _

_It is my hope that Mara follows my directions for once in her stubborn life and actually delivers this letter to you unopened. My words are for your eyes alone as is my counsel. I am leaving today by train, to see Ayame and Suzume in Kyoto and will be away for several weeks. During this time, I am sure that you will keep a careful eye on Mara and do what you can to help her get the rest she needs to fully recover. _

_I would have rather had this conversation face to face over a clandestine cup of sake, but I am realizing that time is no longer my ally in these matters and I must do what I can in whatever way I can to ensure that you and Mara are able to continue on your path to being truly healed, preferably in tandem, if you catch my meaning. _

"Yeah, I catch your meaning all right," Sanosuke muttered as he continued to read. While he was genuinely fond of the old doctor, and concerned at the idea that he was unwell, the non-stop, and increasingly desperate machinations of the old coot had become a genuine annoyance.

_Being the unparalleled matchmaker that I am, I took it upon myself to find Mara a husband. It is a serious and solemn obligation, one that I have never taken lightly. Championing the cause of a headstrong, mal-tempered, uncouth foreign woman been quite an adventure in patience and long suffering, but after many false starts and despite Mara's insistence that she is better off alone, I am confident that in you, Sagara Sanosuke, I have finally found her a man who with some work (and a steady, reliable and __legal __source of income!) has the potential to be a worthy mate._

"And there's the jab about the job status," Sanosuke rolled his eyes and almost stopped reading at this point, in no mood to receive a lecture about marriage or jobs or obligations, even in the written form. He was already of a mind to figure out how to make things a bit more formal with the doctor, but this was ridiculous! The next sentence however caught his eye, and his irritation vanished, replaced by a growing sense of concern…and anger.

_I know that you have seen the scars that mar her form. I have as well and am aggrieved that such a gentle woman has been exposed to such violence. Unfortunately, I have very recently learned that there are other hurts, other injuries to her heart and spirit that are terribly difficult to mend and have, more than the bullets that ripped through her back, contributed to her being such a sorrowful soul. _

_While it is not my usual practice to speak ill of the dead, I would be doing you both a grave disservice if I didn't grace you with the same insight I have been given. She was, I fear, loved least by the man who should have loved her most and is sadly no stranger to abandonment, betrayal and abuse. _

Well and truly shocked, Sanosuke started down at the writing, reeling as if he'd taken a hard blow to the chest. He read it again and swore as jagged pieces of a heartbreaking puzzle began to fall into place. _(I knew somebody had hurt her…) _ That had been apparent from the beginning. When they first met, the slightest touch, a raised voice of the merest hint of anger or frustration on his part had caused the woman to go pale, become silent and to withdraw into herself. _(…didn't know it was her own damn husband)_ The thought made his blood boil because he knew how much Mara had mourned the loss of her spouse, how deeply she loved the blond haired son of a bitch and grieved over the murder of a man who apparently had it coming to him.

_(It's a good thing he's dead)_ Sanosuke clenched his fist, white hot anger erupting at the notion of Mara being hurt.

"Why in the hell didn't she tell me?" Sanosuke muttered as he sadly looked down at the letter. He would have understood, he was sure of it, and would have tried to help make things better. In the aftermath of her accident, he'd helped her, or at least tried to help, overcome her embarrassment at his having seen her, tried to let her know that she scars on her body were of no import.

Sanosuke sat down on the river embankment and looked out stormily at the silently moving river, thinking about how he'd carried her to the bath house one night, a couple of weeks after she'd nearly frozen to death. Unable to bear any weight on her injured leg, and still weak and feverish from the infection that had nearly taken her from him, she'd reluctantly asked for his assistance and he'd helped her undress, trying not to look, fumbling not to be too forward as he helped her rinse her skin and wash her hair before carrying her to the tub for a desperately needed soak.

She'd wept that evening, as he poured water on her poor, thin back, over the scars that she'd kept so carefully concealed from everyone who cared about her. And when she was safely in the bath and he'd retreated to give her the privacy she needed, the wooden walls had done little to hide the sound of her sobbing.

The realization that there had been perhaps more to those tears than simple embarrassment broke his heart. Sanosuke forced himself to keep reading the letter, half knowing somehow what would come next…

_To make matters worse, the mistreatment that she suffered has left her fearful and anxious about whether she can adequately perform the sweet and tender duties that a loving wife owes to her husband. _

Sanosuke's eyes started to burn. He's been right. He blinked angrily, rubbing his sleeve across his face. This just tore it, this final indignity that she'd suffered. He'd always assumed that Mara's lack of confidence in herself when it came to her looks and desirability was due to her innate shyness and modesty. _(I was wrong…)_ Years on the street had revealed to him the cruelty that men could inflict on the weaker sex, the abuse that women were all too often exposed. It was a part of life, a dark unhappy aspect of existence.

A mental image of Mara being hit, of her being shoved down on a bed, of being…_(Gods!) _he couldn't even finish the thought as the abstract concept of domestic violence took an all too realistic turn.

_While some may disagree, it is my belief that a husband has similar responsibilities, and when due to selfishness or ignorance fails in them, breaks not only his wife's gentle heart but also her trust. You can see in Mara the ultimate outcome of such neglect and unkindness. I have told you these things in the strictest confidence, Sanosuke, so that if and when the day comes that you have the honor of leading this woman back to the marriage bed, you will be gentle and patient with her. _

_(I 've tried to be gentle…and patient)_ The Gods knew that he'd done his damndest to do right by the woman, to not push her, to keep things nice and proper like. He kept his hands where they belonged and had only recently allowed himself to indulge in the occasional kiss on the cheek or forehead, trying to mirror the mannerisms he'd picked up from decent men while travelling in the Americas. They were more forward than in Japan, but not nearly as forward as he wanted to be and the months of self-restraint and self-denial had been difficult to say the least.

_(I've wanted to take her to bed her for months….to truly make her mine…) _He wanted to be hers in return, more than anything.

_Finally, it is my sincere hope that you will one day call this good woman your wife. She needs and deserves the peace and protection such a title affords a woman. While there have been many improvements in this Meiji Era, the rights and protections afforded to our wives, sisters and daughters are still very lacking. My health is failing, Sanosuke, and I suspect that before long, I will pass from this life into the next, leaving my clinic partner in a vulnerable position, both professionally and legally. You must prepare and improve yourself, so that when this day comes, you are in a position to watch over her._

_It would be a shame if lack of planning and preparation on your part, forced her into an unfortunate situation with another. Don't delude yourself into thinking that could never happen for this world we live in can be cruel and offer few options to a widow with no living family to turn to. That fop, Thornton-san, is waiting for an opportunity to do this very thing. He has sought my permission to courtMara (as if I have any say in what that stubborn female does with her life) and I have used his mistake to your advantage for as long as I can. In light of my failing health, I can only hope that you will take this opportunity to make things right, while you can…_

So absorbed was he in his reading, that Sanosuke allowed his guard down for a few moments as he realized that his irritation at Genzai's meddling was seriously misplaced, that he should have kept squeezing Thornton's neck till his eyes fell out of his duplicitous head, and that if the old doctor made it back to Tokyo, he'd owe the man an apology (and a jug of the finest grade sake he could buy). Sano stood up from the embankment and began walking quickly back towards the clinic, oblivious to the darkening sky above him, unconcerned with the grey haired man who had followed him out of the tavern, unaware that he was walking right into a trap of his former friend's making. _(I'll go work things out with Mara…tell her I'm sorry for what I said…tell her how I really feel…)_

"Hey asshole!" A rough voice called out. "You wouldn't happen to be Sagara Sanosuke would ya?"

Sano glanced backward and shrugged nonchalantly, sizing up the middle aged man with practiced ease. _(Gods…what now?)_ "I might be." He gave the older man a dangerous smile, moving into a neutral stance just in case things got interesting. "You gotta a problem with that pal?"

The old man grinned back, his decayed yellow teeth stained opium black. _(That's it dumbass, keep your eyes on me…) _"No…but my boss does." He spat as he moved closer and closer to his target, one hand slipping slowly beneath his badly stained gi. Before his grimy fingers could close around his weapon, he found himself airborne, his wrist snapping like a brittle chicken bone.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, old man," Sanosuke growled, tossing the injured man with careless ease to the side of the road, "It's not a good idea to start fights that you can't win."

"You son of a bitch!" The older man snarled, cradling his broken wrist against his chest. "Now, look at me! I'm not gonna be able to work!"

"Tough shit," Sanosuke replied coldly, brushing the dust and dirt off his suit jacket. "You try and pull a knife on me again and you won't be able to walk. You get my meaning?"

"You think you're pretty tough, don't ya?" Hissing with pain, the older man struggled to his feet, shuffling away until he was safely out of the younger man's dangerous reach. _(Mr. Thornton warned us that this bastard might be tough to handle…)_ He once again reached into his gi with his left hand, and quickly pulled out a revolver, aiming it squarely at Sanosuke's chest. _(That's why I came prepared…)_

Sanosuke froze. _(What in the hell is that old man doing with a gun like that?) _He's seen similar weapons while traveling through the American West and knew with perfect clarity the damage they were capable of inflicting. "Where'd ya get the gun Grandpa?" he asked as he took a step backwards, trying to make space between himself and the business end of the revolver.

"My boss gave it to me," The old man grinned, revealing his three remaining teeth, "He thought that it might come in handy." This of course was a lie. _(Mr. Thornton would tack my hide to the warehouse wall if he knew I'd borrowed one of his precious guns…)_ Slowly and carefully, he forced the taller man back towards a run down fishing shanty, a shanty that concealed a dangerous secret. _(But what Mr. Thornton don't know…won't hurt him…) _

"That was awful thoughtful of him." Sanosuke snorted as he took another step back, watching the wounded man's movements, gauging the older man's reaction time to his moves. _(I'll bet my left ball that the bastard's boss is Yukishiro…)_ Who else would have access to such expensive western style weapons? Who else would have the motive? _(This is just that sick bastard's style…he'll get everyone outta the way before he goes after Kenshin…)_ "I'll have to remember to thank him when I shove that damn revolver up his ass." Sanosuke growled as he backed up against the relative safety of the fishing shack wall, priming his mind and muscles for the inevitable brawl.

"You'll never have the chance." The tall man wheezed as he sank to the knees, his painful grimace hiding a triumphant grin as five of his co-workers tackled Sanosuke from behind, one of them wielding a packing crowbar with practiced ease. In a matter of seconds the fight was over. By the time Edward's motley assortment of dockworkers had managed to knock Sanosuke out with a well placed blow to the back of the head, four of the five had been badly injured, three with broken arms and dislocated shoulders, the third unconscious and bleeding, his badly fractured jaw hopelessly unaligned, shattered teeth sprinkled across the blood spattered dirt road.

…**..**

Time slowly passed and the late spring afternoon began to fade into the gentler shades of twilight. Storm clouds, dark and full of warm spring rain water began forming on the western horizon line. As the minutes passed by, they became darker...almost green black in color, swirling masses of liquid energy that slowly covered the Tokyo sky, threatening to spoil what had been up to that moment, a perfectly lovely spring evening. The air buzzed with anticipation, birds and insects and other creeping things seeking shelter from the impending downpour, people picking up their pace as they hurried back home, scanning the darkening sky, faces scowling with displeasure at nature's bad timing.

Umbrellas began to appear as the first fat rain drops fell from the sky, pelting the brightly designed fabric with an easy rhythm, lulling the population into a happy complacency that perhaps the storm would be nothing more than a mere scattering of showers...a light rain to wash the dust from the streets...or water the tender buds and flowers that had erupted in the past few weeks, transforming the city into a wonderland of color and light.

Their hopes were dashed when the first sliver of lightening snaked across the churning sky, closely followed by the deep rumblings of thunder. As if on cue, the rain began to fall in earnest towards the earth, mindlessly covering everything in its path. The rain pelted down, landing on the head of a weary undercover policeman as he lifted up the unconscious body of a bleeding man, against Edward Thorton's carriage as it made its way to the British fete, upon a little auburn haired boy running home, eager for the comfort on his mother's smile and his father's safe embrace.

**Early Evening at the Clinic **

Another bolt of lightning danced across the early night sky, filling the air with blinding quicksilver, then fading to nothing, leaving the faint tang of ozone in its wake. The thunderclap that followed it was enormous, the thunderous roar rattling windows as it tore through the city, howling across the sky like a demon. The ear splitting roar of water, rain and wind startled Mara from her work, the turmoil in her heart finding a strange kinship with the volatile sky. _(I swear…can this day get any worse?)_

She rose, quickly sliding the windows shut, then hurrying outside to open up the rain barrels and secure the lose belongings in the back of the clinic, doing her best to prepare for the rain soaked onslaught. By the time she stumbled back into the clinic, she was dripping wet, her freshly laundered skirt and vomit free blouse newly stained with dirty raindrops. _(Why did I even bother to try and wash them?)_ She thought grumpily, casting her tired eyes on the very crumpled dress box lying abandoned in the hall corner. _(Why did I even bother trying…)_

She had bought the dress, a gown she could ill afford, and probably would now never wear on a rare womanly whim, wanting to have something beautiful, hoping that it would make her appear beautiful _(…beautiful to him…)_ Something akin to a disappointed sigh escaped the weary doctor's mouth and, dripping despondent puddles, she limped over to the cast off dress box, feeling rather like the mashed up cardboard covering after the day she'd had.

Silently, she slipped open the dress box, gently parting the wrinkled rice paper with her long, white fingers. _(I think he would have liked this…)_ The dress was a shade shy of midnight, made of satin and even in the low lit clinic light, it shimmered beautifully, the artful pleats and delicate details as refined and delicate as Mara knew she would never be. _(…but that doesn't matter now…)_ Reverently, she re-wrapped the gown, then closed back up the dress box, resting her wet hand on the lid for a moment, as though she couldn't quite discard the unworn dress and the hopes that she'd held for herself and that evening.

_(I was going to tell him tonight)_ An icy, sardonic chuckle wormed its way up her throat, competing against the hot, angry tears that were pounding against the back of her eyelids, soaking her lashes and, despite her best efforts not be weak, sliding down her cheeks in miserable little rivulets. _(I was finally going to tell him how I felt about him…about us…tell him about everything...) _Standing slowly, she clutched the battered dress box to her badly scarred chest, trying hard to push down the mounting sense of grief and replace it with the hard won cynicism that had saved her sanity in the aftermath of her husband's death.

_(This is the way things are)_ With that stoic thought in mind, Mara wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her soaking blouse, then squaring her jaw, marched into her office like the soldier her father had been and had always wanted her to be. _(Shit happens…life is how you deal with it…)_ The problem was that she, despite her efforts to be a trooper, wasn't dealing very well with the loss of a patient earlier that morning, and especially with Sano's angry words and stormy dismissal.

_(He said he didn't want to be with me!)_ Oh, how they stung, those simple words! _(In the end…they NEVER want to be with me…)_ She had, by the men she loved best, been dismissed over and over again; first by a father who rather than abide her choice of a husband had walked out of her life, then by a husband who rolled out of her bed and into another's, needing more excitement and passion than she knew how to give. _(And now…)_ Mara's tight jaw began to tremble, and to her chagrin, her traitorous eyes began to tear up again. _(…he's done the same thing!)_

Only this time, she couldn't figure out what she'd one wrong! Another bolt of lightning crashed across the sky, filling the clinic with white, sterile light, startling Mara into dropping the garment box, her poor dress spilling out like a discarded black shroud across the puddle strewn floor. "Dammit!" She swore, and bent down, trying to salvage the gown before it became hopelessly water damaged. "Dammit to hell!" Mara's teary face twisted into an anguished snarl. "Damn HIM to hell!" The resulting peal of thunder hid her cry as she threw the dress across the room, and sank to the floor, finally giving into the tears that had been threatening all afternoon. "And damn me right along with him!"

"Why does this always happen?" Had Mara been a woman of faith, she would have asked this question to a higher being, a God who cared, a Creator who could explain condemning his or her creations to such loss and loneliness. But she, much like her father, denied such things, preferring the cold absolution of logic and science to the fallacy of unseen saviors and mysterious miracles.

"Why?" She demanded instead to the cracked plaster ceiling, her question lost in another thunderclap. _(Why can't I have a measure of happiness?) _She had in her opinion, done everything she could in this time, adjusting as best she was able considering the circumstances, hiding her 21st century mind and manners beneath voluminous skirts, corsets and starched linen blouses.

As the rain poured down on the clinic roof, the rusty hinged flood gates to Mara's heart creaked open, pouring out the anger, self doubt and regret that had festered deep within her love starved soul for years. _(Just once…why can't I have someone just love me as much as I love them?) _Sinking to her knees, Mara covered her face and sobbed, overcome with the far too familiar sense of abandonment and a foreboding sense of despair.

For she did love Sanosuke, loved him in her silent somber way, as deeply as she'd ever loved another human being. _(How could I not?) _He was in her eyes, everything that was good and safe and secure in the surreal Meiji world that she'd been thrust, a strong man who was gentle, a smart man who wasn't consumed with pride, a handsome man who was not arrogant, an honest man who faced a harsh existence and a horrible past with uncommon grace and a hopeful heart. _(He's all that I ever could have hoped for…)_

But experience had taught her a very harsh lesson when it came to hope. She knew, with a heartrending sense of clarity that somehow…for some reason, she was out of time, and that the very real, and very terrifying possibility existed that she would one day find herself back in the time she'd been born. _(It is that fear that has always held me back…)_ Mara clenched at her sternum and groaned aloud, feeling physical pain at the thought of being torn away from those she had grown to love and the work she had dedicated herself to.

_(Oh please…)_ This plea was as close as a benediction as Mara had ever uttered in her agnostic life. _(I don't want to leave this place…)_ She had grown to love the little cracked plaster clinic and run down dojo, to adore her herb garden and the old dying doctor who had become a dear mentor and treasured friend. _(I don't want to leave these people…)_ There were others whom she held close, a smart mouthed teenage boy struggling to leap over the chasm of adolescence into adulthood, his shy and good hearted fiancé, a red headed ex assassin who was as gentle as any human being could be, a blue eyed kendo instructor whose unwavering friendship and support had kept her sane and sensible, the bright eyed boy who Mara treasured as though he was her own.

_(I don't want to leave him!) But _it was the threat of losing Sanosuke that kept her up at nights, and plagued her waking moments, the unspoken fear enough to keep her heart in a cautionary vise grip that only recently had she slowly managed to uncurl. _(We became such good friends that I let down my guard…allowed him to become something far dearer that I should have dared…) _Only after nearly losing her life during the deadly blizzard, had she realized just how dear her wild haired gangster had become to her.

And so, after much deliberation and angst on her part, and after much nagging and maneuvering on the part of many others, she had decided to risk all and tell Sanosuke everything, the truth of where and when she came, the true nature of her situation and the honest feelings of her heart. _(I was going to tell him tonight…)_

Mara wiped her eyes again, and sat down on the water logged office floor and began to make a funny sound, somewhere between a cackle and a sob, her natural appreciation for twisted irony finally coming into play. _(…which is naturally why today went down the shitter and took me right with it…)_ Not only had she lost a patient whom she'd struggled so to save, and had been barfed on numerous times by the illustrious Lady Agatha, but had also been ditched by the one person in the world that she could least afford to be ditched by. _(This is what I get for hoping…)_

**Knock! Knock! Knock!**

"Open up! I've got a man out here that needs medical attention!" The deep, demanding voice of a man broke through her sadness, his tone so sharp and compelling that it literally jarred her up from the floor and out of her self imposed funk. _(And this is what I get for sitting on my bony ass and feeling sorry for myself!) _

"Yes, there's a doctor here. Hang on a moment!" Mara called, wiping her eyes for the third time that evening and rushing towards the heavy front clinic doors. "I'll be right with you."

"You'd better be." The voice on the other side of the door growled. "I've got better things to do with my time than stand out in the rain with a moron in tow."

"Keep your shirt on pal." Mara said grumpily as she fumbled with the iron lock, pulled open the heavy door, and promptly gave a very loud and rather unprofessional screech when she realized exactly who the wounded man was."

"What the hell is this?" Eyes wide with horror, Mara stared up at a tall, rather menacing looking stranger who with a weary sounding grunt, shoved the obviously injured object of her affections into her arms, her medical training unable to compensate for the sight of her Sanosuke's bloody face and still features. "Who…who are you? What the hell happened?" She demanded furiously as she and the tall man half dragged, half carried Sanosuke inside the clinic, trying to quell the shaking in her limbs and the annoying tremble in her voice. "Who did this to him?"

"Does it matter? Now quit being a noisy twit and go fetch the doctor." The tall stranger ordered; his lean mouth curling into a disapproving frown.

"I am the doctor you idiot!" Mara protested as she quickly took Sanosuke's pulse and began desperately trying to assuage his condition. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest, her frightened breath coming in angry little gasps as she carefully examined the back of Sano's skull, looking for and finding all the signs of a rather serious concussion "God, what did he get hit with, a baseball bat?"

_(No…actually it was a crowbar…)_The tall, thin man, clad in shabby wet dockworker's garb looked down at her, his amber eyes narrowing dangerously for a moment, causing Mara to involuntarily cringe. "You don't sound very much like a doctor." He dryly pointed out as he reached into his wet gi and pulled out a metal cigarette case and then looked down at the wild haired, distraught foreign woman, his wolfishly sharp senses picking up the traces of half washed out vomit and freshly shed tears. "You don't look very much like a doctor either."

"I don't give a shit if what you think. Now either help me treat this man or get the hell out of my clinic!" Mara swore as the gently pried open Sano's closed eyes, trying to discern if his pupils were disproportionately dilated. _(Yup, he's got a concussion all right…)_ "And don't you EVEN think of lighting up in here! This is a hospital for crying out loud!"

"Very well then, "Doctor", I'll leave you to your work." The tall man smirked as he somehow managed to actually light a damn match and an even damper cigarette.

"What?" Mara's mouth fell open. "Where do you think you're going?" Scrambling to her feet, she reached out and caught the tall man by the arm. "I need you to help me carry this patient to an examining room. He might be seriously injured!"

"He'll be fine." The older man replied nonchalantly as he inhaled deeply then a few seconds later, lazily exhaled, blowing a plume of grayish-brown smoke right in Mara's furious face. "That moron's head is harder than a rock and three times as dense. All he needs is some stitches, so quit worrying." He then, much to Mara's annoyance actually patted her on the head, as though she was some dim witted ding bat and turned to walk back out the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Mara cried out, trying to cling to any semblance of rational dialogue with the acerbic stranger. "Please, you've got to tell me going on!"

"Back to work." The tall man said quietly, his cigarette tainted sarcasm turning into something far more menacing. "I've wasted far too much time and risked too much for the sake of this fool." Turning around suddenly, he bent down, catchthing Mara by the jaw and forcing her to look up into his ferally intense eyes. "You will say nothing of my coming here, not to anyone, do you understand?"

Mara could feel the man's thumb and forefinger press up against her pale skin and into the muscle beneath and knew instinctively that the stranger was more than capable of shattering her jaw bone if he was so inclined. "Yes." She whispered, with a frightened nod, her voice dying in the back of her throat. "I give you my word, I won't tell anyone about this."

"For your sake, you had better not." The stranger said severely as he released Mara and once again headed for the clinic entrance. "Once I leave, make sure you lock the door and don't open it for anyone. I will send someone to check up on you and your rooster headed moron as soon as I'm able." And with that enigmatic statement, the tall man disappeared out the door and into the harsh rain and wind, leaving Mara alone with her unanswered questions and Sanosuke's bleeding body.

**A few minutes later….**

It started with the sound of water, dripping gently near his head, the quiet trickle slowly rousing his mind from the darkness that had taken him, bringing him gently back to reality. Other sounds began to drift through the cobwebby mess in his brain, the sound of his breathing, floorboards creaking softly every few seconds in some strange rhythm. He could hear the deep roar of thunder, the sound of rain crashing against the windows in a vain attempt to get inside, the nearly inaudible sounds of another person breathing close beside him.

Smell followed, filling his nostrils with several conflicting scents, the familiar coppery smell of blood was everywhere, threatening to overwhelm him with its bitterness. He breathed again and found that the tang of disinfectant was also floating about; equally strong, not as frightening. It meant that he was being cared for. There were the earthy undertones of mud and sweat, of salty tears and cheap sake. Finally, he detected the faintest trace of something else _(someone else), _.the subtle fragrance of dried herbs and soft soap drifting through the air. It was her scent, maddeningly insubstantial, incredibly comforting.

_(Mara)_

He tried to speak, his deep voice sounding disjointed and strange in his ears and then slowly realized that taste was returning to him. Once again the essence of blood was foremost in his mouth, followed by a strange bitter taste that he could not identify. He rubbed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and the bitterness intensified, making him feel sick. He tried to speak again, then felt something warm and wet brushing across his mouth, ridding him of the terrible bitterness.

He swallowed, thankful for the relief that the wetness provided him, then groaned as he began to feel the faint echoes of pain threading through his body, centering somewhere around the back of his head. It was muffled, swathed in what he assumed was some sort of sedative, taking the sting away, making his body feel strangely languid.

His mind recoiled at the thought of being drugged, then relaxed when the feelings of warm wetness invaded his senses again, stirring within him primal memories of being a child in a wooden tub, his mother's gentle hands washing his body with infinite tenderness, her dark eyes shining with happiness as she poured warm bath water over his head, laughing when he sputtered and demanded more, his small hands reaching out towards her eagerly.

_(Mom?)_

He frowned and inwardly shook his head as other memories invaded his sub-conscience. No, she was long dead, her body destroyed by typhus, weakened beyond repair by years and years of back breaking farm work and child bearing that sapped her strength and made her seem much older than she should have. He sighed as the sensation of being cleaned returned, finding that the soft cloth running over his skin was at once both incredibly soothing and sensual.

His eyes fluttered open when he felt hands on his face and neck, her hands, so thin and cool, so remarkably strong considering how beautiful and fragile they appeared at first glance. After a few seconds, his vision finally came into focus and he realized that was lying on his side, bare chested, the wooden floor of the clinic stained with blood...his blood. He tried to move, to get up; groaning in pain as the back of his head began to throb painfully, causing his vision to slightly waver as he tried once again to sit up.

"What…what happened?" He whispered groggily, gingerly holding his aching head and trying to keep his balance. In the end, he lost his battle against the dizziness, and fell back, not against the bloodied floor but back against Mara's wet body.

"You've had a bit of an accident, and are still disoriented. Don't try and sit up until I tell you to." Mara's voice was whisper soft, yet slightly stern as she bade him be still, apologized for the discomfort and then shifted her body slightly, gently cradling his aching head and body in a way that made the pain bearable. He blinked several times then tried to rub his eyes, finding that they were caked with dried mud and blood.

"I….can't see," he grumbled.

"Just hold still for a moment," Mara chided quietly and gently began washing his face, the thick cloth rubbing away all the traces of grime, mud and blood that marred his handsome face and features. _(I can do this…I can stay in control)_Her water cooled fingers lingered along the edge of his hairline, gently caressing a nasty bruise that was already beginning to blossom against Sano's honey hued skin. "There. Now, how's that?"

Sanosuke sighed and eagerly tilted his head towards her, desperate for the contact to continue, savoring the tender way she ran her hands over the hard planes of his cheekbones and jaw...how gently she brushed her hand over his eyes, his forehead...his mouth.

"It's better," He reached out an unsteady hand towards Mara's face, finding that he suddenly needed to touch her as well, "Thanks Babe, I guess I owe you one, huh?"

Mara shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. _(You owe me nothing…)_ She felt it then, the first tremor in her limbs that whispered that her control was going to slip again, that she, despite her best efforts to remain unaffected, was about thirty seconds shy of making a fool of herself. _(I WILL be strong…I WILL be professional…I WILL not cry…)_

Summoning up the last vestiges of her rusty iron will, she sighed raggedly and held him closer, cradling his head against her blood stained blouse, her trembling, thin arms protectively encircling his muscular shoulders. "I'm just glad I could help you." Slamming her eyes shut, she bit down hard on her lower lip, fighting against the delayed response to all that had happened. _(…that you're still alive…)_

Sano frowned when Mara stopped talking, then became alarmed when the doctor made a low moaning sort of noise and quickly looked away from him, her wet, unbound hair hiding her face from his view like an impenetrable onyx curtain. "Sweetheart?" He cautiously pushed aside a few damp curls, trying to catch a glimpse of his friend's face, hoping to understand why the normally calm and collected physician was beginning to tremble, her thin frame shaking beneath him.

"C'mon Mara talk to me," He urged, parting her hair a little further, his scarred hand brushing up questioningly against the doctor's cheek, a pale cheek that was slick with salty twisted his hand a little, changing the position until he was caressing the delicate juncture between Mara's jaw and neck, urging her without speaking to look at him, _(Tell me what's wrong…)_ His frowned deepened when she defied his unspoken request and jerked away from him, almost as though his touch burned her. "Look at me Mogensen."

"No," Mara whispered and tried to pull away, to hide the evidence of her weakness and fear. "Don't," She trembled when she felt Sanosuke's thumb clumsily brush away a fresh tear trail, the awkward endearment more than she could stand. "Don't!"

"All right…I won't touch ya!" Sano snapped, removing his hand from her face. "For Hell's sake Mara, are ya still pissed about what happened this afternoon?" He asked angrily as he finally managed to sit upright against her, trying to understand why his friend was pulling away from him, why the woman he loved wouldn't meet his gaze. "Dammit Mara, I'm sorry…I didn't mean…" His apology was cut short, though, when Mara covered his half opened mouth with a trembling hand.

"I'm not angry with you," She murmured; her husky voice cracking as she finally acquiesced to Sano's request and looked down at his injured face, seeing in his pale and bruised visage her worst nightmares made manifest. _(He doesn't know how damn lucky he is to be alive…) _The stranger had been correct, but only by the thinnest of margins. _(Had the blow fallen only a few inches to the left, Sano would be dead with a broken neck…and I would be…oh…Gods…I would be…)_

"Oh, Sanosuke, don't you understand?" She began to tremble violently then, and instinctively deepened the embrace, pulling him up tight against her shaking chest. "He brought you in…I couldn't tell what was wrong! I thought…when I saw the blood...God! I thought…that you…"

A jagged arc of lightning cracked across the now black sky, painting the little clinic and those within it a stark shade of electric white. For the space of time that exists between a blast of a lightning bolt and the burst of thunder, Sanosuke glimpsed a side of Mara that he'd never known existed; that of a terrified woman. She was bone white and trembling uncontrollably, her haunted grey eyes wide and wild with worry as she held him close to her heart, whispering his name over and over again, her hot salty tears falling freely now, splattering against his upturned nose and mouth, tears that she was shedding…shedding for him.

"I thought I'd lost you!" And there, in that split second of brilliance before the lighting died, and the thunder descended, Sano finally understood, was finally graced with a heartbreaking measure of clarity.

He gasped as she cried out as the room fell dark once again, save for the light of a solitary lamp and threw her shaking arms around his bruised torso, her low keening wail as sad a sound as he'd ever heard. "I thought I'd lost you…like I lost him!" Mara sobbed, pressing her lips against his wet, muddy hair no longer able to hold back, her mind and body firmly gripped in a nightmare that she'd barely kept at bay since the violent murder of her husband. "I thought you were gone…that…I was alone…" Her voice broke again, her body shaking violently. "…that I'd lost the man I loved…"

Sanosuke suddenly stiffened, his limbs becoming leaden. For several seconds, the only discernible sound was that of the pounding rain, rumbling thunder, and the occasional sniffle and sob from Mara.

"What did you just say?" Sanosuke finally whispered, trying to keep his voice steady…and failing miserably.

For an instant, Mara was tempted to retreat from her ill thought out admission, to say that she'd said something else, meant something else. "I…I…said…" She swallowed hard, and loosened her grip around Sanosuke's waist and tried to scoot away from him, _(I should tell him it was a mistake…that I didn't mean it…)_ She gasped when Sano captured a loose handful of her hair in his hand and gently, gently pulled back without hurting her, forcing her to look at him. _(But I can't…because that would…in the end…be untrue…)_

"Mara, I asked you a question," Sano said gruffly, his dilated brown eyes taking in every aspect of the woman across from him. The candle light barely illuminated the clinic lobby enough for him to make out her face, painting most of her features with swathes of shadow, highlighting only her tear stained cheekbones, nose and forehead with the barest shimmer of light.

_(Gods…she's beautiful...) _The thought came unbidden as he gazed at her dark grey eyes, half concealed by thick, water drenched locks of curly black hair, her slightly parted lips, the rosy embarrassed color that was creeping across her cheeks contrasting with her pale skin, the pain and fear in her expression, softening her strong features, making her seem incredibly vulnerable...utterly desirable. Without thinking he reached out and caressed her cheek, finding the smooth, pale skin to be as soft as silk.

"Well?" Sano pressed. "Did you….say…what I think you said?"

Mara drew a shaky breath…..and nodded, crossing the line between friendship and something deeper, condemning herself and the one for whom she cared with one simple word. "Yes."

Sanosuke couldn't think, couldn't breathe. A thousand thoughts tore through him at that moment, a million different emotions that danced and surged through his mind and heart; making him somehow feel both indescribably happy and slightly sick to his stomach. "Are…you sure about that?" He inwardly winced at the idiocy of the question, but couldn't help himself.

Mara's expression became wistful, almost sad. "Why do you ask?"

Instead of replying, Sanosuke simply shrugged, looking down at the mud and blood spattered clinic floor. _(I need to know…if you really mean it…) _He awkwardly reached down and silently traced a meaningless design in a puddle, unable to meet Mara's eyes.

"Sano?" This time it was Mara's turn to press the issue. Instinctively, she covered Sanosuke's scarred hand, threading her thin fingers between his own.

"You're the first person…who's ever told me that," Almost shyly, he glanced up at the somber faced physician, unsure how she'd respond.

Mara didn't know what to say, and so, simply nodded, returning Sanosuke's hesitant glance with what she hoped was a semi-reassuring smile. _(I understand…) _And because Mara was perhaps a tad bit wiser that she thought herself to be, and truly did understand the battle scarred lying in her arms, she acted rather than reiterated, knowing that this man, her friend that had somehow become something more, had always valued actions over words, and probably always would.

Years later, when Sanosuke was an old man and rather prone to reminiscing, he would often look back on this night, recalling with great fondness the first time he and his sweetheart shared a kiss. It was nothing like he'd anticipated; this first measure of intimacy between them. It was silent and slightly awkward, a gentle and hesitant meeting of her mouth and his, a somber, half-whispered assurance on her part that yes, she did love him and had for quite some time.

Even as the years advanced, he never forgot the tender moment, never lost the memory of her cool, soft lips, the hint of herbs in her wet, curly hair, the homemade soapy scent of her skin, the tear salty taste of her mouth as she kissed him. And though he never spoke of the experience with another living soul, he never forgot what happened next….

**Meanwhile, halfway across town; near the entrance of the British Trading Company warehouses.**

"So, did you take care of him?" O'Shea hissed, wiping the rain from his old, green eyes as he handed his superior a steaming cup of green tea. "Is everything all right?" He, despite his loud protestations to the contrary, was something of a worry wart and after hearing the badly injured dock workers boast of their successful assault on Sagara, was fit to be tied. "Did ya get the poor lad to the clinic?"

"No, your moron, I left him lying face to suffocate in the mud," Saitoh Hajime, known to most as Fujita Goro, snapped irritably as he snatched the cup of tea from the white haired man and quickly downed the scalding hot beverage, trying to warm up his aching joints, to work the stiff kinks out of his shoulders and back, refusing to admit to either the worried anarchist posing as a butler or himself, that he was getting older and that carrying a heavy man down a very muddy road in the middle of a rather severe thunderstorm wasn't quite as easy as it once had been.

"Really?" O'Shea, like most people had a terrible time dealing with Saitoh's morbidly twisted sense of humor.

"Yes, really," Saitoh, who had terrible time dealing with people who didn't have the brains to detect sarcasm when they heard it, tossed the empty cup of tea at the dim witted Irishman and scowled menacingly. "Now, unless you want to join Sagara and the dead dockworker that I just finished burying, I suggest that you get back to your post."

"So the poor lad is dead then?" O'Shea lamented. "That young fellow didn't deserve to meet such a dreadful end!" Taking off his rain soaked bowler and putting it sadly over his heart, O'Shea began to rattle off a prayer to whatever Saint bothered with interceding for dead heathens.

_(And I don't deserve to put up with a man who has the approximate intelligence of a peat bog…) _Saitoh inwardly snarled and tried to repress the urge to make good on his threats to send his spy on his merry way to the afterlife. _(Oh…the things I do for my country…)_ "The rooster is alive, you Moron….at least he was when I left him," He smiled wickedly at O'Shea's thunderstruck reaction. _(Gods…idiots are so easy to manipulate…) _"That uncouth foreigner at the clinic seemed rather ill equipped to deal with his injuries."

"Now, now…don't you doubt Miss Mara. She may have a bit of a mouth on her, and no sense whatsoever when it comes to acting nice and proper but she's a damn fine doctor with a gentle heart and a bloody brilliant head on her shoulders. Watch and see, in no time at all she'll have her fellow up to rights." O'Shea said rather piously as he made his way towards Edward's carriage, thankful beyond words that that Sagara's un-baptized soul was in fact not floating about somewhere in Purgatory, chagrined that once again, he had been tricked by the sly Oriental police officer.

_(Damn Fujita! He's a devil in human form, to be sure! Oh, how I wish I knew more about poisoning than I did about blowing up things…I'd show that squint eyed bastard a thing or two…)_ He smiled wistfully, imagining the cantankerous heathen snarfing up a bowl of soba and then keeling over in a delightfully dead heap. _(Now…that would be a truly happy sight to my poor eyes…)_

Alas, O'Shea knew with perfect clarity that if he ever even so much as trifled with the officer's cigarette matches that it would be he who would be dead, his white haired head permanently separated from the rest of him. With that morbid reality check in mind, he hopped into the driver's seat and adjusted his crumpled hat against the driving rain. "Well, I'm off!"

"It's about damn time," Saitoh growled, ignoring both O'Shea's goodbye and the icy rain that was coming down in sheets. He had already moved on, his razor sharp mind already going over the next aspect of the operation, carefully reviewing each and every aspect of the investigation, analyzing each of the players from every possible angle, focusing first on the primary target, Enomoto, then on Thornton and those who aided him in his evil business.

_(The Englishman finally made a mistake...)_ A cruel smile appeared; a grin that bespoke the downward arc of a very sharp sword. _(One of Thornton's employees stole a revolver that is to be delivered to Enomoto in three weeks time, a revolver that Sagara will be able to identify…a revolver that will connect the employee who is sitting in my jail to Thornton…and from Thornton to Enomoto…)_ This was the break that he'd been waiting for, the physical link that would connect the lies and deceptions into one dishonorable chain, a chain that he would use to wrap around the Defense Minister's cowardly little neck.

Returning to the task at hand, Saitoh took off his water soaked jacket, hid the crowbar that he'd used on Sano's thick skull behind a packing crate, and went back to the hard and heavy work of lifting and sorting the numerous warehouse boxes, ignoring the stiffness in his arms and back, focusing instead on the strange foreigner he'd encountered in the clinic, trying to determine where she fit in, or even if she was a part of this whole mess. _(She was taller than I expected…and not nearly as attractive…)_ He had anticipated that she would be like most of the European women that Thornton pursued, vain and vapid, beautiful vessels with empty heads, easy morals and purses full of money.

_(This one is different…I think…)_ Naturally, he had ordered his men to do an investigation on the black haired woman once she'd been linked to the arms dealer. _(An investigation that went nowhere…)_ This in and of itself was problematic. There was no record of this "doctor" to be found either in Japan or abroad, and he and his men were very, very good at finding hidden things. She had no papers, there was no ship's manifest bearing her name or description, no family or relations to claim or be claimed by. _(This means that she is either a criminal with the means of obliterating any trace of her previous activity…or something else…)_

Once his work was finished, he stretched again and then sat down on the hard warehouse floor, thinking back to his encounter in the clinic, his mind replaying every word and action between himself and the woman, the short hairs on the back of his neck bristling as he recalled the strange chi he'd sensed in the grey eyed physician when he's intentionally put his hand on her face. _(It was utterly unnatural...almost as though…) _His frowned deepened as his logical mind began to come up with an outlandish explanation that was highly illogical, extremely implausible and potentially very dangerous. _(Hmmm…I wonder if something like that could be possible…)_

He reached into his gi, and pulled out his cigarette case, still deep in thought. He was, by the standards of his time, middle aged; a crafty and strong survivor who had seen many strange things and had learned that the world in which he existed was rarely as simple and straightforward as people wanted it to be. _(I suppose that if the Hitokiri Battousai can become a laundry obsessed pacifist, that anything is possible…)_

With that rueful thought in mind, he lit up his last cigarette and continued to make plans within plans against those who threatened the land that he had sworn to protect, pondered upon the true nature of a tall foreign woman, and with only the patience that a true predator possesses, silently waited out the storm, knowing that both the rain, his questions and Enomoto's corruption were finite things, that in the end, truth and justice would ultimately prevail.

**Author's Notes:**

Yes, this is long – hopefully not too long.

Laudanum and paregoric were opium based "resortatives" that were commonly prescribed during this time. Doctors didn't know how dangerous they were, but they did see the bad effects.

One of my favorite poets, Elizabeth Barret Browning was given Laudanum when she was a young girl to help combat her spinal tuberculosis. (Not that it would remotely help) She became addicted to the substance and ultimately suffered a miscarriage because she couldn't stop taking the medication. Her poetry is rich with metaphor (lots of poppies, etc) and was influenced by her experiences with Laudanum.

Other famous writers (to name a few) that also relied on Laudanum were Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens.

**A Sneak Peak at the Next Chapter….**

As he stumbled down the hallway, his mind replayed the day's passage over and over again, dredging up unwelcome memories of a black eyed whore offering herself up to him, the bitter taste of cheap sake and the dull cracking sound of bones breaking beneath his hands as he fought for his life. There were other images, fragmented and dim, the acrid scent of cigarette smoke, the sensation of being lifted up out of the mud by strong and vaguely familiar hands, the sound of Mara crying in the darkness as she held him to her breast, the softness of her mouth when she kissed him.

Sanosuke paused then, pressing his aching forehead against the cool clinic wall. _(I guess I did get a kiss after all…)_ But, the kiss, though sweet, was still offered up to him in tears and her long sought after admission of love was accompanied by sobs and brought on by fear. _(Perhaps she felt sorry for me…)_ This thought brought him up short, and caused his heart to tighten painfully within his chest. _(…perhaps she didn't mean it…) _The pain in his chest became almost unbearable when he forced himself to admit that he wouldn't blame her one bit if she took back her words after all he'd put her through. _(Hell, it wouldn't be the first time that I woman changes her mind about me…)_

Unbidden, thoughts of Megumi bubbled up from the darker corners of his heart, painful recollections of their acerbic relationship, the tender way her cinnamon eyes would light up whenever Kenshin would walk into the room, that damn annoying laugh of hers, the taste of her sake tinged lips, how perfectly their bodies fit together, how utterly and absolutely, she had broken his heart. It had taken him nearly ten years and a million miles to pull his mind and heart back together, to be willing to take a gamble and allow himself to love another woman.

"What in the hell am I gonna do?" he wondered aloud, his deep voice sounding tired and desperate in the deserted hallway. He knew he needed to go and make things right with Mara, to try and apologize for hurting her feelings, and scaring her shitless and a ruining the jacket and a thousand other mistakes that he'd made during the course of the day. But he feared, like he feared nothing else in the world, that an apology just wouldn't cut it and that Mara, having seen him for the fool that he really was, would reject him, just like so many other people in his life already had. _(…and that would kill me…)_

And so, for several minutes, he simply stood there leaning against the wall, his head down and body aching as he prepared himself, as though he were going to start a fight that he knew damn well he wouldn't be winning, for the inevitably bad ending to a very bad day.

**In the next chapter you can look forward to:**

Kaoru and Kenshin do some reading and Kenshin makes a startling discovery about his grey eyed house guest.

Thornton and Enomoto exchange words (and perhaps blows) at the British ball.

Mara and Sanosuke come to an understanding

The next chapter will be rated M for adult situations and violence.


	13. Chapter 13 - Storms on the Horizon (M)

Here's the chapter you have been waiting for!

Please be aware that due to adult situations and innuendo, this chapter is rated M.

**CHAPTER 13 – STORMS ON THE HORIZON (M RATING) **

**Tokyo 1888**

**Gensai Clinic**

Outside the clinic, as evening finally turned to night, the thunderstorm began to move away from the city and up, up over the hills of Tokyo. The rain, once fierce in its assault, slowly began to retreat, becoming soft and rhythmic, the life giving watery cadence bathing the world and washing away the taint of industrial pollution, restoring a measure of balance to the city and the inhabitants who dwelt within it.

Raindrops, now lush and cool, fell down splattering against the wooden clinic shingles and shutters. The wind, no longer angry and electrically charged, became zephyr like, blowing softly around the medical building, creeping under doors and in between half cracked open windows, replacing the odors of blood and dirt and fear, with the far more welcome scent of earth and water and tender bamboo shoots.

Mindlessly moving, the breeze danced happily down the clinic hallways, waltzing with the occasional dust mote, carrying the scents of spring into every crack and corner. Into the examining room it swept, causing the temperature to drop slightly and the sick yellow kerosene flame to sputter and dance, casting warped and wavering shadows against the smooth clinic walls.

And against one man lying within these walls, the wind also moved, swishing around long legs hanging over the edge of an old examining table, tangling itself in the Sano's shoulder length hair, and brushing over his exposed arms and chest. But try as it might, the evening breeze could not distract the dark eyed man and so, with a weak little bluster, it blew itself back out, back to the open spaces, leaving the injured ex-gangster to his own thoughts.

Oblivious to the cool breeze blowing about him, Sano lay silently on the table, struggling to make sense of a senseless day. Sore, bruised, though thankfully no longer bleeding, he was in pain, both from injuries that he'd suffered at the hands of assailants, but also, and perhaps more so, from the knowledge that he'd caused the suffering of another.

"Let's see if anything's broken," he muttered as he shifted slightly on the table, carefully testing the integrity of bones and sinews with the practice of one accustomed to violence. Once finished, assured that his body was only badly bruised and not broken, Sanosuke turned his aching head towards the window, trying to see out past the residual rain and through the deepening dark, to know that the woman who'd been outside for quite some time was safe, that she was no longer weeping and afraid for his sake.

"Hells bells, she's probably having trouble getting the fire for the furo started up," he hissed in pain as he managed to sit up, the ache in the back of his skull throbbing dully. Groaning, he pressed a bruised hand to the side of his head and blinked several times, trying to clear his vision and force his tumultuous thoughts into a semblance of order.

This day, which from all of his reckoning should have been a good one, filled with the best things that life has to offer, had gone south from the moment he'd hitched a ride in Edward's carriage. _(That bastard had better keep his distance from now on…)_ Sanosuke had been uncharacteristically charitable with the blond Englishman at their angry parting. A few years prior, the Englishman's betrayal would have resulted in a terminal beating.

Sanosuke slowly slid off the examining table, testing the strength of his legs before shakily walking over to the table where his shirt and jacket were lying, barely illuminated by the room lamp. Aside from having one hell of a headache and some busted up knuckles, he was none the worse for the wear. His clothing on the other hand, had not been so lucky.

"Oh Gods", Sanosuke softly swore. The once snow white linen shirt was filthy and covered in black mud, the sleeves soaked in blood, the collar stained with the charcoal and vermillion face paint of the young prostitute who'd tried to tempt him. As bad as his shirt was, his jacket - his wonderful jacket was in far worse shape.

Sanosuke picked up the wreck of Mara's birthday gift and carried over to the examining table and gently laid it out, surveying the damage. Carefully, he dipped a sleeve in the lukewarm surgical water that Mara had left behind when she'd gone outside to prepare him a bath, scrubbing the dried mud with his fingers, trying to salvage the jacket that he treasured.

After a few minutes of frantic scrubbing, it became clear that this was a fight he was going to lose. The once smooth fabric of the jacket was and rough to the touch, the hand sewn seams, no match for the ferocity of fighting, were torn and tattered; the delicate embroidered kanji that had graced his lapel was unraveled, and unrecognizable. _(It's ruined…)_ Sanosuke stared down miserably at the remains, lamenting the loss and his lack of care.

In this life, he had been graced with the gift of clothing three times. The first had been when he turned five and his mother, wan and pale from overwork and illness, had lovingly presented him with a red gi and matching headband, her thin face beaming with motherly devotion. He had worn the garment until it was faded and threadbare and far too small for comfort, the combination of his growing body and the wear and tear of time too much for even the loving stitches of his mother to overcome.

The second article clothing had of course, been his dearly departed white jacket. Given to him in the winter of his 15th year, it had been both a symbol of his emerging manhood and festering rage at an unfair world that would murder an innocent captain for the sake of political capital. This time, the gift came from a hardened yakuza boss, in celebration of him killing his first man, a pitiful excuse of a corrupt politician who foolishly refused to repay a huge gambling debt.

The years that stretched between the second gift and the third were many. Strength was obtained, both in body and spirit, and a measure of wisdom granted. The suit that Mara had given him had seemed to reflect these changes, becoming the outward manifestation of his internal improvements.

He'd worn the suit a few times before today, the last being when Kenshin and Kaoru had invited him to the Akabedo to celebrate Kenji's seventh birthday. And while Sano had never been and would never be a vain man, he had nonetheless, felt mighty fine going into Tae's with Mara on his arm, feeling for the first time in his goddamn life like he truly was a man of the Meiji era.

Sanosuke's mouth twisted into an angry, distorted snarl. "What a load of bullshit!"

He peered down into the muddy washbasin, showing no mercy to himself as he took in the angry bruise on his jaw, and a cut that Mara had sewn up with shaking hands beneath his left temple. _(Even now, after all these years…)_ His reflection stared back up at him, revealing a nose that was slightly crooked from a badly healed break, a split bruise on his left temple that was sore and swollen, and half washed, wild black hair, that upon closer inspection had the slightest touch of gray at the temples. _(I'm nothing more than a street thug…) _

With a violent curse, he lashed out, hitting the washbasin so hard that it flew across the room and crashed into the wall, spilling the dirty water onto the floor that was still stained with his blood. _(...a stupid, lazy son of a bitch who can't even take care of a fucking piece of clothing…) _Furious, Sanosuke grabbed what was left of the shirt and jacket, and stormed over to Mara's desk, determined to shove them both in the wastebasket. In his anger and haste, he knocked over a discarded dress box, spilling its contents onto the floor. His heart sank when he realized what is was and who it belonged to. _(…or do right by the woman who gave it to me in the first place…)_

The dress, like Mara was understated and somber, a midnight hued gown that was modestly cut and expertly crafted, devoid of the usual frills that were the rage among Tokyo's more fashionable female set. It was as subdued and beautiful was the woman who had desired to wear it.

"She would've looked so pretty in this," Shame and sorrow overtook his anger, leaving Sanosuke feeling exhausted and miserable.

Awkwardly, he put the dress back in the crumpled box, his calloused hands clumsily trying to smooth the voluminous folds so they wouldn't wrinkle, then almost reverently, placed the lid back on top of the box and placed it on the top of Mara's desk.

Sano had wanted the day to be a special one, a day where he could show his sweetheart how much she meant to him. For weeks, he'd looked forward to dancing with her, anticipating the sweet feeling of her in his arms. He'd worked odd jobs, saving every sou so he could take her to dinner, read every western book he could get his hands on that would help him understand how a proper woman should be courted.

He'd long imagined what it would be like to finally set things straight with the grey eyed doctor, to tell her that she was dear to his heart, to show her that he was the type of man she deserved and could take good care of her. And at night, as the weeks passed by in preparation for this day, he had wondered as he slept alone in his bed, whether or not he even might manage to win a kiss from the woman he loved, and perhaps if he was very lucky and the gods decided to cut him a break, hear her tell him that she loved him as well.

Sanosuke silently disposed of his ruined jacket and shirt, and then made his way slowly out the door and down the hallway towards the bath house, leaning heavily against the wall as he moved, his balance still somewhat precarious from the concussion he'd suffered. The day had not gone as planned, and whether due to the whim of the gods, fate or his own damnable temper, what should have been a wonderful evening turned into nothing short of a nightmare.

He could still see the hurt, abandoned look in Mara eyes when he lashed out at her earlier that morning, could still hear her calling out for him as he stormed out of the clinic, leaving her to tend to a demented opium woman who would no doubt, spread ugly rumors and cause further damage to Mara's already tarnished reputation.

As he stumbled down the hallway, his mind replayed the day's passage over and over again, dredging up unwelcome memories of a black eyed whore offering herself up to him, the bitter taste of cheap sake and the dull cracking sound of bones breaking beneath his hands as he fought for his life. There were other images, fragmented and dim, the acrid scent of cigarette smoke, the sensation of being lifted up out of the mud by strong and vaguely familiar hands, the sound of Mara crying in the darkness as she held him to her breast, the softness of her mouth when she kissed him.

Sanosuke paused then, pressing his aching forehead against the cool clinic wall. _(I guess I did get a kiss after all…)_ But, the kiss, though sweet, was still offered up to him in tears and her long sought after admission of love was accompanied by sobs and brought on by fear. _(Perhaps she felt sorry for me…)_ This thought brought him up short, and caused his heart to tighten painfully within his chest. _(…perhaps she didn't mean it…) _The pain in his chest became almost unbearable when he forced himself to admit that he wouldn't blame her one bit if she took back her words after all he'd put her through. _(Hell, it wouldn't be the first time that I woman changes her mind about me…)_

Thoughts of Megumi bubbled up from the darker corners of his heart, painful recollections of their acerbic relationship, the tender way her cinnamon eyes would light up whenever Kenshin would walk into the room, that damn annoying laugh of hers, the taste of her sake tinged lips, how perfectly their bodies fit together, how utterly and absolutely, she had broken his heart. It had taken him nearly ten years and a million miles to pull his mind and heart back together, to be willing to take a gamble and allow himself to love another woman.

"What in the hell am I gonna do?" he wondered aloud, his deep voice sounding tired and desperate in the deserted hallway. He needed to make things right with Mara, but wasn't sure quite how to go about it. He stood there for several minutes, leaning against the wall, his head down and body aching as he prepared himself, as though he were going to start a fight that he knew damn well he wouldn't be winning.

**Meanwhile, outside by the Furo…**

Mara meanwhile was having a rather difficult time herself. Bending down, her skirt and feet covered in fresh mud, she was struggling to keep the bath fire going. _(I hate phosphorus paper…I hate matches…I hate outdoor plumbing!)_ She struck the delicate match head against the rough, red phosphorus covered paper, swearing up a storm when the slightly soggy match broke in two.

"Gods, what I wouldn't give for a blowtorch!" she snipped as she tried to prod the faltering fire with a stick. Smoke, wet and dark from wet wood, billowed up into her face, causing her to sputter and cough and try to cover her eyes from the acrid smoke. In doing so, she lost her balance, which since the accident had been nothing if not precarious and fell backward…only to be caught by a pair of strong arms.

"What's a blowtorch?" Sanosuke asked, trying like hell to sound casual as he carefully helped Mara to her feet. Her thin face was dusky with soot and smoke residue, save a couple of thin clean lines that extended from her red rimmed eyes down to her cheeks.

"A better alternative to these damn things," Mara muttered as she angrily flung the broken match into the pathetically sputtering fire. "The wood's too wet to start a proper fire and the…..um…" She felt her cheeks flushing when Sanosuke's grip on her arms tightened slightly. "…the rain also isn't helping matters."

Sano glanced at the sad, sad excuse for a fire and then down at Mara. "So I see." Unable to help himself, he gave her a cocky grin and added, "After all this time you still can't get a fire going. Hells bells, Woman, what am I going to do with you?"

"_Do_ with me?" Mara forgot to be embarrassed and went with indignant instead. "I'll have you know Sagara Sanosuke that lighting a fire under these conditions is impossible!" She angrily motioned toward what was now a smoking heap of wet wood. "Not even a pyromaniac with a gallon of gasoline and a lighter could get this damn thing going."

"Wanna bet?" Sanosuke leered at her, since he absolutely no idea what she was rattling on about, and an idea began to form.

"Are you serious?" Mara rolled her eyes. "You think you can get a fire going? In this weather? Your concussion must be worse than I thought."

"I'm fine," Sanosuke muttered, letting go of her arms and kneeling down by the soggy remains of Mara's attempt at getting the bathwater warm. "So…are you gonna make a bet with me or not?" He asked, avoiding eye contact with the doctor as he thought about the plan he'd come up with, wondering if it would work or make things worse.

More eye rolling commenced. "What are the terms?" Mara sighed, all too familiar with Sano's predilection for wagers and games of chance.

"If you win…."

"Which I will, by the way," Mara said confidently, folding her arms across her soaked chest.

Sanosuke snorted and continued, "If you win, I'll help you build you one of those new-fangled glass houses that are real popular in London and Paris, you know…the ones you can grow stuff in year round for your herbs and whatever it is you doctor women like to make medicine out of." He took a stick and began knocking the wood that Mara had so carefully piled on the tinder aside.

"A greenhouse?" Mara asked, forgetting to be crafty and hide her excitement at the idea of being able to keep fresh healing herbs, roots and flowers available year round. Considering that they were in a practical deluge, the chances of Sano succeeding to light anything was nil. Still, she'd known this man for well over a year now and was leery of entering into any sort of bet with the rascal without knowing the details of the arrangement. "And if _you_ win…what are you planning to get from me?"

He looked up at her, taking in her rain soaked curls, pale mouth and tall, willowy frame. Sano's heart ached to know that she'd been weeping on his behalf and that this night, which he'd hoped would be the beginning of something deeper than friendship between then had been ruined by his damnable temper. So in the end, what he hoped for went unsaid, replaced instead with a simpler, yet critical request to the foreign doctor.

"Your forgiveness," Sanosuke said quietly as he gently captured what little kindling remained dry and pulled it together into a little mound. Shielding the wood from the wind and rain, he struck one of the matches that Mara had dropped and carefully lit the beginnings of a fire.

His back to the woman he loved, Sanosuke carefully stoked the little fire from a bit of smoke and the hint of a flame into something more substantial before he spoke again. "Dammit Sweetheart, I didn't mean to …." He stopped speaking as the flame sputtered, and held his breath as he carefully adjusted the kindling and added a couple of twigs that weren't sopping wet to the fire.

Mara watched silently as the ex-gangster urged a heretofore impossible fire into existence, amazed at his skill and the gentleness in his large, scarred hands and fingers as he coaxed, twig by twig, a blazing little fire out of the wreckage of her earlier attempts.

"I didn't mean to snap at ya', earlier today," Sanosuke continued quietly once it was safe to add small broken up branches that he'd collected earlier in the autumn for the clinic. "As for this evening…." He sighed and added another branch as he thought about the tears Mara had shed on his behalf. "I didn't mean for that to happen either. I never wanted to scare you and I sure as hell didn't want to ruin the jacket that you got me for my birthday. It meant the world to me, you know."

Sanosuke, paused and then added so softly that Mara nearly missed what he added, "You mean the world to me as well, Mara. You have for a long time and I figure you always will."

"You don't need to ask for my forgiveness, Sano," Mara tried to protest. "I shouldn't have asked you to leave the clinic."

"The hell I don't," Sanosuke shot back as he added larger branches to the steadily growing fire. "Dammit Mara, you've always deserved far better than what I could ever hope to give you." The last sentence came out far more resigned and bitter than he'd intended.

"A jacket can easily be replaced," Mara gingerly knelt down beside him, wincing as her still sore knee protested the action. "You on the other hand…" she reached over and carefully selected a branch from the pile and offered it to him, "…are one of a kind." She smiled shyly when he accepted it and added it the growing fire. "Besides, you've already given me more than what I could ever have hoped for."

Sanosuke took a deep breath, trying to ignore the sudden blush that crept across his cheekbones, the slight stutter in his breathing, the increase in his own heartbeat as he carefully took her hand and held it, the tightening, almost electric sensation that danced through his stomach as their fingers tangled, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I don't deserve you..." Sano tried to protest as he stood up and helped Mara up from her kneeling position, but was cut off when Mara placed her finger over his lips and shook her head.

"Why don't you let me decide that for myself?" Mara whispered her voice shaky with nerves as she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, shivering as she felt his muscles in his jaw leap in response. She let her lips linger against his skin for a moment, then withdrew, savoring instead the half rough sensation of Sano's palm pressed against her own, the tender almost hesitant way his fingers brushed against her skin.

"In all honesty, you're the one who deserves far better than what I can offer you."

"Gods and demons, Mara, what would you be crazy enough to want to offer to a man like me?" Sanosuke asked incredulously.

"Just this," Mara murmured softly as she took his hand and placed it over her heart, "just  
me."

Sano could feel her heartbeat racing like a Mongolian pony as well as the soft curve of her left breast under his hand. He gently moved his fingers over the wet lace and linen that covered her rain cooled bosom, looking for and finding desire in her dark grey eyes as he touched her. Sanosuke carefully put his other arm around her thin waist and drew her close, next to his body, closing his eyes as he felt the welcome weight of her arms around his neck.

"Are...you...sure?" He said slowly. He'd made assumptions once about a woman he loved and was loath to repeat the mistake. A part of him hoped she'd say no, the other half acknowledging that he wouldn't...no... couldn't pull away from the woman in his arms even if he wanted to.

I'm sure." Mara whispered back, fighting to keep her voice steady. She could feel her cheeks warming with embarrassment, but forced herself not to give into her fear that she'd disappoint this man she'd grown to love with all her heart. "That is if you'll have me."

"Damn straight I'll have ya'." Sano growled as bent his rain soaked head and sealed the deal with a kiss that left no doubt as to his intentions.

This kiss, unlike Mara's earlier attempt at intimacy was not hesitant or shaky, but it was soft, the pressure firm. Mara shut her eyes and gave herself up to it, savoring the warmth and firmness of Sanosuke's mouth against her own. She sighed and returned his kisses, tentatively at first, then with a little more confidence when she realized that he was in his turn, receiving just as much pleasure as she.

Sano groaned softly and brought Mara closer, reaching up and sinking in not quiet steady fingers into her unbound hair. He'd wanted to do this for ages, to feel her inky curls wrap around his fingers and savored the silky texture. Eyes closed he hummed his approval as Mara kissed him back. Just as before, she tasted like rain, tears and mint leaves, a flavor he knew he'd crave for the rest of his life.

Growing aroused, he nipped and ran the tip of his tongue along the seam of her lips. Then as he felt her mouth open cautiously, he entered it, eliciting a low, pleased moan from the normally stoic doctor. Much to his surprise, she cautiously returned the gesture, though skillfully enough to leave him suspecting she'd engaged in such sensual kissing before.

Hoping she wouldn't go into cardiac arrest, Mara explored the taut line of Sanosuke's strong jaw. She felt almost brazen and dare she think it, perhaps even beautiful when Sano murmured her name and kissed her deeply. She could feel the rapid, almost feverish pulse of his heartbeat beneath her fingertips, and then it seemed unbearable to her not to touch more of him. She slid her hands down his sternum and over his bare, muscular chest. He was hot to the touch, his skin slick with rain and perspiration. The rise and fall of his chest quickened as she kissed him and touched him with the hunger that only one who has been long deprived of love and tenderness possesses.

"Gods, Sweetheart," Sanosuke growled as his kisses deepened, becoming almost carnal in their intensity. He moved his hands down from her head and neck to the small of her slender back. Fingers splayed against her corseted body, he pulled her closer, wanting….needing…the intimate contact so long denied him. "I've wanted to do this for so long."

"Me too," Mara panted as she hungrily kissed his neck and jaw, her cheeks redder than he'd ever seen them, "I never thought that I…that we would find ourselves like this…"

"What, sopping wet and smooching in the rain like a couple of kids" Sanosuke teased, his voice deep, yet warm with humor.

"Yes, something like that," Mara laughed and rested her head against Sano's shoulder. She was shaking with the bewildering mixture of desire and nerves. "I'm having trouble believing that this isn't a dream." Memories of her other life, the one where she was always alone and in mourning bubbled up from her subconscious mind like searing tar, causing her to tremble. _(If this is a dream, then please never let me wake up…)_

Sano felt her shudder against him. He embraced her, wrapping his warm arms around her waist. "Yeah, me too." He wanted to say more, confess that he'd been in love with her for a year and a half, but words failed him at the moment. He softly kissed her forehead instead and simply held her close.

**Over at the British Embassy **

Ever since it was legated in 1959, the red brick building that housed the British Embassy had been a center of society in Tokyo. Tonight, despite the now abating thunderstorm, the embassy was buzzing and bustling with activity and the grounds were filled with the carriages of many well to do inhabitants of the new great imperial city. Lead lined windows reflected out to the streets the hint of massive crystal chandeliers, some reported to weigh over a ton and cast light in a hundred thousand different directions.

As carriages came and went men of means and great reputations, resplendent mostly in formal tuxedos and their ladies, some clad in the latest fashions houses of the continent and others in silk kimonos so beautiful and colorful that they would be described as walking woven dreams in London and Moscow entered the large and spacious diplomatic center of the British Empire in East Asia. The couples went up two flights of stairs, lined by cherry trees laden with white, pink and decadently fuschia blossoms that scented the very air that the rich and powerful patrons of the embassy breathed.

People on the streets tried to gawk and stare at opulence and perhaps imagine what it would be like to live with such means and in the company of such illustrious companions as were to be found at the embassy that evening. The new Consul-General, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary appointed to protect British interests and citizens overseas had arrived and was ready to take his new post. Rumors ran rampant that he would become the first Ambassador to Japan despite his relatively young age of 48 years of age.

Sir Francis MacDonald was already a legend in Tokyo for having brokered several trade treaties and having been present for some of the bloodiest fighting of the Bakumastu and Satsuma Rebellion. He was fluent in Japanese and had taken a Japanese wife, much to the delight of the local people. He was quite a bit less popular with many of the less than upstanding politicians due to his strict interpretations of trade regulations, particularly in respect to the import of fire arms, the export of opium related goods and his complete and utter inability to be bribed.

At the servant's entrance, on the other side of the embassy, it was (as usual) rather a different story. Groomsmen and carriage drivers mingled with weary cooks and servants, drank cheap sake and took bets on illegal games of chance and propositioned harried serving girls and maids.

One of the servants waited with a couple of tickets he'd won during a card game, a bounty he was saving for his friend who had promised to introduce him to a mysterious foreign woman that the servant had heard many stories about by the other friends of the ex-gangster. If most of the rumors were to be believed, the black haired stranger was Sanosuke's woman and a doctor from the Americas. The servant sighed and craned his head looking for and hoping to see his friend.. His break was nearly over and once he went back to cleaning dishes and washing half-drunk glasses of champagne, he knew he'd be working non-stop into the next morning.

Suddenly, a brass bell rang, signaling to the servants that one of their masters had requested them. One of the embassy staff called for a Mr. O'Shea the manservant of one Mr. Edward Thornton. A short, stocky white haired man stood and walked over to the servant's entrance, read the paper than was handed to him and quickly, after straightening his wild hair, went quickly inside and disappeared.

Another brass bell went off.

Break time was over.

O'Shea hitched up the carriage in record time and without asking any questions (at least to those who thought themselves in charge- the servants were another matter entirely) quickly made his way to a side entrance near the back of the embassy. After staying the horses, he quickly took to the stairs and knocked softly on the door, just as he'd been instructed to do.

The door opened and much to O'Shea's surprise he found himself face to face with a rather irate little Oriental man.

"Are you Thorton-san's servant?" Enomoto asked, a visible sheen of sweet covering his face and staining the collar of his white silk shirt.

"I am, Sir," O'Shea started bowing and bobbing like a jack in the box and had the sense not to look the other man in the eye. "How may I assist you, Honorable Sir?"

"Take your master home and see that he stays there." Enomoto motioned for two men behind him to move forward. He stepped aside, revealing an unconscious Edward Thornton hanging limply between them, his face and hands a mass of bruises and blood. "He ran into a little accident while conversing with me and needs to be attended to. I will be sending one of my physicians..."

"Master Thornton has a doctor who will gladly attend…" O'Shea didn't have the chance to finish interrupting. One of the tall men accompanying Enomoto hit him square in the chest and he fell backwards, hitting the bottom stares with enough violence to make him see stars.

"As I was saying, you disgusting pig, I will be sending one of my physicians to attend to Mr. Thornton. It would be in your best interests to ensure that the doctor's visit takes place without any complications or conversations on your part." Enomoto took a silk handerchief and mopped at his wet brow, despite the fact he'd done none of the heavy lifting or hitting. "I'm doing Thornton a favor in letting him walk out of this building alive."

He looked down at the stunned, groaning Irishman, "to say nothing of not killing his ill-mannered man servant for daring to speak directly to me." Enomoto dabbed at his brow again. "I'm not accustomed to having to be so direct with matters of trade and finance and find Mr. Thornton's lack of care to be terribly, terribly distressing."

The two tall men carried Thornton to the carried, tossed him aside as if he was the day's bit of refuse and then picked O'Shea up as well from where he'd fallen. "Do be a good fellow and inform your master that I will be taking 25% off my final price due to this evening's inconvenience. If he has lied to me regarding Sagara and things are not attended to my satisfaction by noon tomorrow, I'll be taking his head and yours and cancelling my order completely! Do you understand me?"

Another man appeared, presumably Enomoto's physician. He seemed nervous and kept licking his lips. O'Shea didn't blame him.

Wheezing, clutching at his side, O'Shea could barely even nod due to the pain in his ribs. Despite the agony of breathing, he risked speaking; hoping against hope to gain more information about what had befallen Thornton and what might be planned for Sanosuke, if indeed Sanosuke was the Sagara in question. "Yes, Sir, I'll take Master Thornton home directly. Do you have any other instructions?"

One of the tall men caught him by the arm and twisted it until O'Shea cried out and fell to his knees, the ligaments and tissues in his shoulder nearly tearing.

"Mr. Thornton's lack of planning has put my entire plan in jeopardy. I am on a very tight time frame and can't afford another incident. If you want you or your master to continue doing business in the land of the living I suggest you learn your place and keep your mouth shut."

Enomoto motioned to his one of his body guards to go with the doctor and O'Shea to the carriage. "Watch both of them. If either man leaves or speaks to anyone other than yourself or the doctor, notify me immediately?"

"Yes, Enomoto-sama," the tall, menacing man bowed then disappeared into the carriage.

**In the Furo**

Over the course of Sanosuke's life, he'd seen the bodies of many women. Some beautiful, others passable, he was no stranger to the gentle curves and sensual valleys that made up the form of the fairer sex. And yet, on this evening, with the moon, clouds and rain as a backdrop rather than fans, opium smoke and ribald laughter, he watched, his dark eyes drinking in every detail of the woman undressing as if it was the first time he'd ever seen such a sight.

He knew this woman's body, had helped bathe it and dress it when Mara had been injured during a terrible winter storm. He knew of the scars that she'd hidden from him and wondered about the scars he still couldn't see, those that marred her heart and spirit. He'd seen this woman's body bruised, weary and battered had held it against his chest as she wept from sorrow and weariness.

Tonight was different.

Half hidden in shadow, the woman before him silently unbuttoned a plain linen blouse, exposing a tantalizing slope of a pale shoulder that gleamed in the moonlight. Her skirt and petticoat followed suit, sliding down slender hips and lean thighs, pooling like a cotton puddle around her bare ankles.

Hungrily he took in the shadowy details of her corset, shift and pantaloons. White, though not as fair as the woman who wore them, they were utilitarian, devoid of any embellishment or artifice. Sanosuke caught a relieved, soft sigh as the laces of the constricting corset were undone, the breathy exhalation as erotic a sound as he'd ever heard.

She turned then and wordlessly took off the corset and pulled the cotton shift over her head, leaving her back exposed to him. He counted the entry wounds that marred the perfection of her shoulders and hip and watched as the pantaloons were hesitantly removed, revealing the back of a badly scarred knee and thigh, the blossom pink striations marring the line, but not the form of her leg.

Sanosuke's heart however was blind to these moonlit imperfections, seeing only a woman who was exquisitely tall and lithe, with legs that seemed to go on forever. Delicate and yet made of stuff sterner than steel, she was an intoxicating contradiction of strength and vulnerability, modesty and sensuality as she undressed, washed and cleaned her body prior to joining him in the furo.

Mara rubbed soft soap on her hands and worked on the grime and dirt, her brisk actions and thorough cleaning reminiscent of a surgical arena rather than a 19th century wooden bathhouse. She rinsed her hands off then hazarded a glance over at Sano.

He was sitting in the tub, leaning back on the wooden rim, and was watching her, his expression openly covetous. Mara blushed and clumsily dropped the container of soft soap that she'd made the winter before. It went rolling across the floor. Embarrassed, she dropped her head down, hiding her eyes beneath a veil of curls as she blindly felt for the container.

"Here, Babe," Sanosuke rose and hopped out of the bath and caught the rolling container then went over to where Mara was trying to hide from him behind her hair.

"Thank you," Mara muttered quietly, not quiet daring to raise her head to look at Sanosuke.

Kneeling down beside her, Sanosuke gentle brushed her hair out of her eyes and tilted her chin up, so he could look her in the eyes.

"Do you want me to go?" he asked softly, not wanting her to be afraid or worried.

"No! Of course not. You need a good soak in the tub after what you went through this evening," Mara protested as she tried to look like the voice of authority, while hiding her breasts and lower body with her arms. "It's just…"

She sighed and closed her eyes when Sanosuke leaned over and placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose, then another one on her cheek. "It's just difficult." She motioned to the spider web like scars that marred her shoulder and abdomen. I'm…I'm sorry."

Sanosuke kissed her again and dipped his fingers in the pot of soft soap. "You've got nothing to be sorry about Mara," he said firmly while he rubbed the soap into a lather and began washing her long curly hair. "You've also got nothing to be embarrassed about. You're a damn fine looking woman."

Carefully he soaped up the jet black curls. They were soft and silky beneath his fingers and now smelled of mint and chamomile and other green things. It was a smell he'd long associated with the woman he loved and couldn't help but savor the experience.

"I've wanted to do this from the moment I met you," he confessed as he reached for the bucket and poured some warm water over her soapy curls. "Of all the people I ever thought would save me from going under, I didn't think it would be a doctor woman with legs that didn't quit and hair that was as wild and pretty as she was."

Mara relaxed a little, a laugh escaping her. "I'm sure your opinion changed when I opened my mouth and gave you what for."

Sanosuke chuckled and finished rinsing her hair. "Both of us were in rare form that day. Still, I managed to get you and that old crone out of the water…" He leaned over and kissed her again on the cheek, "and you saved me from drowning." The thought of that day made him sober. "I thought I was a dead man when the ship blew."

"I thought so as well," Mara whispered, reaching for and finding his wet hand, "it made me horribly sad, even though I didn't know you." This time she leaned over and kissed him tenderly on the lips. "I'm glad you didn't drown."

Sanosuke brushed his free hand on her scarred knee. "I'm glad I didn't lose you to the storm." What an understatement. The thought of being without her, of losing the one person in the world who understood and loved him for who he was chilled him. He kissed her back, his kiss quickly deepening.

"Gods, I love you," Sanosuke whispered as he pulled her into his arms and off the little stool she was sitting on. He settled to the floor, with her in his lap, covering her mouth with his own as he kissed her soundly. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and her wet body settle against his as she kissed him.

"I love you too," Mara whispered back, her expression radiant with happiness that was palpable, even in the barely lit bathhouse. She kissed him passionately, opening herself to the experience of being loved and in his arms and began to forget to be cautious and wary to the point that she didn't freeze up when he cupped one of her breasts.

Sanosuke groaned and ran his fingers over the puckering skin. Her breasts were small, firm and so responsive beneath his hands. To his surprise, Mara seemed at ease with this intimacy and even appeared to encourage his actions when she groaned her approval when he ran his thumb over one pale nipple. Emboldened, he explored her other breast as he kissed her, learning her body by touch, sound and sight.

Taste came next.

Trailing kisses down the side of her delicate neck, he urged her to turn towards him, till she was straddling his hips. He was hot and hard and feeling her so close to him, the slide of her wet skin against the lower part of his body was nearly enough to nearly finish him. Like a long missing puzzle piece, she fit against him perfectly.

"Lean back a little," his voice was low and insistent in the quiet bathhouse, "yes, just like that…"

Mara complied, moaning when his mouth and lips replaced his fingers. When he took one of her nipples into his mouth, she gasped, when his tongue rasped against the sensitive skin, she shuddered, her hips twitching instinctively against his. "Oh, that's so good….so good…." She sighed, her head lolling back with pleasure.

Pleasure, however became panic when she felt Sanosuke's hands drift down to the apex of curls between her legs. At the first brush of his fingers against her mound, she froze, her languid limbs becoming stiff with discomfort.

Mara reached down and caught Sanosuke by the wrist, her expression fretful, "…you don't need to worry about that." She was ashamed of herself, of the worry and fear that even now plagued her when it came to the most intimate of actions. Eric had found her lack of skills to be off putting, her innate reserve to be an insurmountable obstacle to his pleasure.

Unable to understand what he'd done wrong, Sanosuke stared at her, "the hell I don't," While Sano knew he wasn't the most polished gentleman this side of Paris, he knew damn well that when it came to matters of sex, a lady always came first. "Doesn't that feel good?"

Mara bit her bottom lip so hard Sano was worried that she'd start bleeding. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I'm not….I'm not very good at this." She thought about how many nights with her husband had ended in shouting and tears and motioned vaguely down in the direction of their hips and looked away, embarrassed enough that tears filled her eyes. "…and I don't…I don't want to disappoint you."

Sanosuke moved his hand up and stroked his fingers over the curve of her hip. Frustrated that he couldn't beat the ever living hell out of Mara's deceased spouse, he fumed. Words of anger and disgust at the treatment she'd received at the hands of her husband warred with the praise and assurance he wanted to shower on her as he recalled Dr. Gensai's letter warning him about the mistreatment that Mara had suffered at the hands of her husband. Anger, white hot and protective ignited. _(That dumb, dead son of a bitch...)_

Mara saw the anger in his eyes and misinterpreted it. "You are angry." She tried scoot off of him, but was prevented.

"I am, but not at you," Sano said earnestly, "never at you." He took a deep breath and pulled her gently back against him, trying to get his temper back under control. "You don't need to worry about whether you're good at this or not and you sure as hell don't need to worry about disappointing me."

Sanosuke shifted his hips a little, the part of him that was hot, hard and insistent pressing against her thighs. "See?" He chuckled at the look of startled pleasure on Mara's pale face. You're doing just fine, Sweetheart."

Mara stared at him a moment, torn between desire and uncertainty, then nodded slightly. "Are you sure?" She smiled one of her rare crooked smiles when he shifted his hips again and in rather colorful language assured her of his utter lack of disappointment and kissed him, softly at first, then deeper, her lips and tongue expressing her relief.

**Later That Evening**

**Tokyo Central Police Precinct **

**Hospital Detention Centre – Floor 3**

The Tokyo central police precinct was one of the few centers that staffed a working hospital for prisoners. One floor out of three was reserved for those suspects or prisoners who were sick, wounded or dying, while the others were used for standard police work.

In one of the cell blocks, a young officer was starting his rounds after having been briefed by a now departed lieutenant on the afternoon's activity. There were the usual cadre of sick individuals, one prisoner dying of an apparent malignancy of the stomach, another suspect who was being held for questioning in the death of a prostitute, his eyes gouged out in the dead woman's last ditch effort to protect herself and surprisingly several men who had been admitted earlier in the evening with severe injuries due to a fight.

The officer glanced at the admitting notes and was surprised that the official police report indicated that the injuries of four men had come from only one man. This of course was impossible in the officer's professional opinion. How could one man manage to break two arms, three wrists, one shoulder blade and dislocate three jaws (and dislodging an unknown number of teeth) without ending up in the hospital or more likely, the city morgue?

No, there was more to this incident than met the eyes, the office decided as he rounded the corner of the cell block, heading to where the suspects (they had been found with an illegal firearm and charged with attempted murder by the arresting officer) were being held. He checked the notes and saw that the officer who'd booked the men had indicated that the man who he supposed was technically the victim responsible for this melee was at a local clinic and receiving medical attention.

A soft coughing sound was the only hint that something was terribly wrong. Upon rounding the corner, he saw that two of the prisoners were dead; their open mouths twisted in post mortal agony, their glazed eyes bulging. They'd been strangled.

The other two were in the process of being murdered. Two men, their faces hidden, were methodically strangling the two prisoners', one with a garrote the other bigger man with his bare hands.

"Stop!" The officer exclaimed, his tone horrified. Where were the guards? Why hadn't anyone been alerted to the fact that two unauthorized people were in the ward? He looked over to the bench where the office on duty should be monitoring the prisoner's and saw that they guard was missing. "Who let you in here?"

He fumbled for his police whistle determined to alert other offices of what was occurring but was prevented from doing so by the larger of the two assailants. Without a word, the tall man had the smaller officer pinned. A quick, yet brutal wrenching of the policeman's neck was all it took. The dull crack of breaking vertebrae was the only sound heralding the ending of a life. The room fell silent, save for the heavy breathing of the two men who'd just murdered five people in under three minutes.

"Oi - Enomoto was quiet clear about no officers being injured," the smaller of the two men mentioned casually as he took of his face covering and quickly changed into the clothing of the dead officer.

"Couldn't be helped," he bigger man replied, as if he was talking about the weather. "Sides, the most of the cops are already on our payroll and won't bother investigating what we just done."

The smaller man (who technically was an officer on the payroll of Enomoto) nodded, though his expression was far from satisfied. "The arresting officer is not one of our men. Word is he's a real son of a bitch who can't be bought."

The larger man laughed as another police office came into the room and began helping him drag the bodies of the dead into another room that was adjacent to the autopsy area. "I don't care what you've heard. Every bastard has his price. Not shut up and let's get this cleaned up. We've still got work to do."

He picked up the dead officer's notes and looked them over. To his chagrin, the address of the clinic where Sagara was being treated was not included in the police report, nor was the name of the doctor attending him. They'd have to check the clinics in the city for the one man who was left who could testify about illegal guns being used in the attempted murder of a Japanese citizen.

**Back at the Clinic**

The storm was over.

Spent of rain, what clouds were left after the evening's thundershowers slipped quickly over Tokyo's hills and went out to sea, where Sanosuke knew from experience they would form great ocean storms that would drive the winds and rain from Japan all the way to the Americas.

He sighed at the memories of towering blue-black columns of cloud that writhed with thunder and lightning over the flat horizon of the ocean, and then turned his thoughts from sleeping under strange skies and open waters to the small medical clinic where he would be spending the night.

The storm's passage had transformed the smells and sights of Tokyo. Gone were the omnipresent hints of burning oil and charcoal ovens from the atmosphere, replaced with the more earthy scents of cool wet dirt and freshly formed and rain puddles. The cobbled stones beneath his bare feet were slick and smooth and the grass growing around the pebbles was wet.

He inhaled deeply, wincing only slightly as the residual ache at the back of his head protested the actions and looked up at the stars that could now be easily seen. How he'd missed the familiar constellations in his travels around the world and ached for a sight, no matter how banal that reminded him of home. More often than not, he found this in the night sky, finding a measure of comfort in the moon, the tracking star and the planets that he'd been taught to identify by different sailors.

Sasosuke smiled and tracked a band of spattered brilliance that arced across the sky. The Milky Way, Mara called this celestial object and if what she said was true then the sky was filled with more suns, planets and heavenly bodies than the human mind could lay count to. It was a magnificent idea, shared by an amazing woman. Not for the first time, Sanosuke wondered at how Mara might know such mysteries and why she bothered to share them with a man such as himself.

His thoughts turned again, away from the sky and into the clinic walls where the woman who'd opened up the skies and his heart was preparing for bed. His heart quickened at the thought, for this evening, unlike so many others before, would not be an evening where either of them fell into sleep alone, but an evening where they would slumber, when and if slumber came to either of them, in each other's arms.

_(It's finally happened…)_ Sanosuke thought as he walked to the front gate of the clinic and double checked to make sure the bolts were fastened and the doors were properly locked. Upon securing the front, he turned and began walking back to the rear entrance. _(…we've finally told each other how we feel.) _Barriers that they'd both set up to protect broken hearts had been torn down in a wooden bathhouse illuminated by moonlight, as had long held inhibitions against touching and loving one another.

_(In all my dreams, she was never so beautiful as she was this evening…)_ For so long, Mara's long sought after companionship only had come after sleep had taken him. In his dreams, he'd known her many times and in many ways, but those night visions had paled in comparison to feeling her naked body against his and tasting her trembling lips.

They'd bathed together until the furo water became cool and their fingers and toes wrinkled. In the bath, they'd touched and learned more about each other's bodies and each other. He'd told her of his father, who'd been a sugar beet farmer, shared the story about his mother sewing him a red gi. With sadness, he spoke of his sister who had married young and died in childbirth while he was travelling and a younger brother who had once been a pupil of Karou's before joining a military academy and venturing off to the Korean peninsula to prepare for a war that Sanosuke objected to on every possible level.

Mara had spoken of her mother, a beautiful, curly haired professor of astronomy and her father, a tall, grey eyed police officer who had been killed in New York City while trying to save people caught in two great buildings in a strange sounding battle called Nine Eleven. To his surprise and sorrow, he'd come to understand that Mara and her father had been estranged at the time of his death, due to his intense dislike of her husband, Erik. Sano couldn't blame her old man for having the good sense to hate the asshole, but wished that Mara could have patched things up with her father before he died.

Carefully, he locked the back gate to the clinic. He wanted Mara to feel safe tonight, and promised himself that he'd make this round every evening hereafter. _(And there will be other nights here, with her…)_ That was the wonder of this evening. He was no longer alone and neither was she. They were together and if Sanosuke had his way, they'd remain as such, until death took them. He was damn determined to make sure that this evening, unlike the one he spent with Megumi, would not end in regret.

Having locked up, he walked back to the clinic and after washing his muddy feet, walked inside, pushing the door shut behind him. The clinic was dark, save for a solitary lantern that was shining in Mara's room. He paused at the doorway and looked inside at the woman who was preparing a single futon for sleep.

Mara looked up at Sanosuke and smiled. Her hair, still drying and curling wildly fell freely down her back, the black curls contrasting sharply with the plain white yukata she was wearing.

"Everything go all right?" she asked quietly as Sanosuke came inside her room and slid the door shut.

"Yup, we're good for the evening. Everything is locked up tight." Sanosuke sauntered over and knelt beside her. He too was dressed in a yukata since his trousers were drying in the bathhouse. He leaned over and kissed Mara softly.

"You sure you're up for this?" he said seriously. "You know, me sleeping here with you?"

Mara's pale mouth quirked slightly, her sense of humor warring with her innate shyness. "We've slept together before, you know…"

"What?" Sano thought for a moment, and then laughed at the memory of them spending a sneeze filled night in Kaoru's woodshed. "I guess we have, haven't we."

Mara nodded teasingly. "So, this isn't a big deal. It's just like before."

Sanosuke ran his fingers along the hem of Mara's yukata. "Oh, I think it might be a bit different this evening." He hooked a finger beneath the soft fabric, pulling at the cloth, revealing a bit more of Mara's chest.

"Oh?" Mara nibbled on her lower lip, "how is it going to be different?"

Sanosuke smiled wickedly and kissed her again. "Well for starters…" he pulled at the yukata again, until the curve of Mara's breast could be seen, "I have a notion to get you out of this."

"Do you now?" Mara teased despite being a little nervous. She shivered as Sanosuke undid the sash of her yukata. His hands were warm against her skin, his movements slow and sensual. "Is that all?"

"No," Sano said as he slid the yukata off her slender shoulders and shrugged out of his sleeping robe. Her skin was pale in the lantern light and soft and cool beneath is almost steady fingers. "I intend to kiss you."

He took her in his arms and did just that. Softly at first, he kissed her lips; her cheeks and her jaw then moved downward, planting open mouthed kisses down her long neck. To his delight and relief, Mara responded as he hoped she might, kissing back, softly at first, then more deeply.

"You'll just kiss me then?" Mara whispered against his mouth. He tasted like sake and sunshine to her and she couldn't help but taste him again and again.

Groaning, Sanosuke urged Mara to lie down on the futon and joined her on the bed, cradling her unclothed body in his arms. "I intend to touch you."

And touch her he did. He touched her body as if she was made of silk, softly and with great care. His fingers lingered long over her sensitive breasts, traced lazy arabesques over her scarred stomach and slid over her hip bones, down to the valley that sheltered her womanhood.

Mara closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, shuddering from the sheer pleasure of being caressed so gently. He touched him as well, her long, delicate fingertips wreaking havoc on his control. Down his spine, up and over his chest, down his hard stomach, she relearned his body with tenderness and care. He was such a handsome man, his body so desirable, that there were times as she caressed the most sensitive parts of his being that she felt she surely must be dreaming.

"So, is there anything else you intend to differently this evening?" She asked the last question very quietly, while her pale cheeks turned pink.

"Aa," Sanosuke said hoarsely as he lowered himself on to her, "I intend to make you mine." He shuddered as his body moved against hers, the coolness of her skin against his a delightful contrast. His body wanted, needed to move. His hips ached with restraint.

Gently, Mara shifted beneath him, opening her legs up to him as he settled his weight on his elbows. She caressed his cheeks, then his mouth with her fingertips, her eyes tender and trusting.

"I love you, Sano," she whispered, her voice low and soft.

Sanosuke looked down at her beautiful face, his heart aching with emotion. He could tell Mara was nervous, but determined to follow where he led her. That trust, the trust she placed in him was humbling.

"You sure about this?" He asked for the final time, while he could still stop if she wanted him to.

Mara nodded, though her eyes held a hint of worry in them. "I don't want to disappoint you."

Sano shook his head, "you couldn't disappoint me if you tried. I love you, Mara, and aim to spend the rest of my life proving it to you." He bent his head, kissing her deeply, as he felt her wrap her legs around his waist in preparation for what was to come.

To be continued in the next chapter. Have faith, there's a reason.

Please leave reviews! Let me know if this is story worth finishing.

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